"Expose the corruption. Protect the hive."
Amazon MGM Studios has released the first official trailer for The Beekeeper, an upcoming actioner from director David Ayer (Suicide Squad; Fury), which stars badass extraordinaire Jason Statham as - stop me if you've heard this before - a man out for vengeance.
While the plot is fairly self-explanatory, especially after you've seen the explosive launch trailer, the synopsis reads, "In The Beekeeper, 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.”"
With a shadow organization involved, it's always fair to wonder, if this film proves successful in early January, whether it could spawn a follow-up or spinoff. It does look to be a good time, and seems to feature both Statham and Ayer at their very best.
The Beekeeper is actually Ayer's first film since the 2020 action-thriller The Tax Collector, and also his first collaboration with Statham. Ayer's past directing credits include Harsh Times, Street Kings, End of Watch, Sabotage, Fury, Suicide Squad, and Bright.
Kurt Wimmer (Salt; Total Recall) scripted the film. He most recently penned another Statham-starrer, Expend4bles, which is currently playing in theaters. In case you missed it, read our interview with The Expendables 4 stunt coordinator Alan Ng HERE.
The cast features Jason Statham (Fast X; Meg 2: The Trench), Emmy Raver-Lampman (The Umbrella Academy; Blacklight), Josh Hutcherson (Future Man; The Hunger Games), Bobby Naderi (Bright; Black Summer), Minnie Driver (Good Will Hunting; The Witcher: Blood Origin), Phylicia Rashad (Creed; Black Box), and Jeremy Irons (Justice League; The Flash).
Statham has had quite a busy 2023 with four releases: Guy Ritchie's Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre ($37.9M), Louis Leterrier's Fast X ($714.5M), Ben Wheatley's Meg 2: The Trench ($394.9M), and Scott Waugh's Expend4bles ($39.7M); and is currently one of the highest-grossing stars of the year with an estimated collection of $1.187 billion at the worldwide box office. After The Beekeeper, he has Fast X: Part 2 on the docket, but that will likely not begin production until sometime next year and is slated to release on April 4, 2025.
The Beekeeper hits theaters on January 12, 2024!
Watch the official trailer below:
In The Beekeeper, 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.”