After being announced at Cannes as a sales title this past summer, Miramax’s “The Beekeeper,” directed by David Ayer and starring Jason Statham, has been acquired by MGM for theatrical distribution in the U.S., as well as select international territories.
MGM, Statham and Miramax recently teamed on Guy Ritchie’s hardboiled heist film “Wrath of Man.” Jason Statham and Kurt Wimmer will produce alongside Bill Block for Miramax and Chris Long for Cedar Park Studios.
Written by Wimmer, “The Beekeeper” follows “one man’s brutal campaign for vengeance takes on national stakes after he is revealed to be a former operative of a powerful and clandestine organization known as Beekeepers,” according to the official synopsis. Statham is, undoubtedly, the one man.
“Having collaborated with David on prior films ‘Fury’ and ‘Sabotage,’ and with Jason on ‘Wrath of Man’ and ‘Operation Fortune: Ruse De Guerre,’ I’m delighted to bring this remarkable team together for such an exciting project, written by the brilliant Kurt Wimmer,” Block said in an official statement.
In an official statement MGM’s President Distribution and Acquisitions Chris Ottinger said, “We are excited to partner again with Bill Block and Miramax on this incredibly fresh and exciting film from writer Kurt Wimmer and director David Ayer starring Jason Statham. With ‘Wrath of Man,’ we’ve proven that our dynamic releasing model can be incredibly successful, and we are looking forward to even better results with ‘The Beekeeper.’”
Statham, whose blockbusters have grossed more than $6.8 billion worldwide, will star. His upcoming films include Ritchie’s “Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre” (which was meant to have opened this past spring), new installments in the “Expendables” and “Fast and Furious” franchises and a sequel to “The Meg,” this time directed by British filmmaker Ben Wheatley.
