Jason Statham and Guy Ritchie Reuniting for ‘Viva La Madness’

Variety has revealed that Jason Statham will reunite with Guy Ritchie for their sixth feature film together – a sequel to Layer Cake (with Statham replacing Daniel Craig as the lead role). The film will be an adaptation of J.J. Connolly’s novel Viva La Madness and will be produced by Punch Palace Productions and Lumina Studios, alongside Toff Guy Films.

The production for the film is set to start in January 2026, with Statham currently the only cast member attached to the film alongside Ritchie as writer and Director. Ritchie has recently been involved in a series of projects that took him back to his British crime land roots, with the likes of The Gentlemen and its Netflix spinoff series, the Paramount+ show MobLand, and the upcoming title Wife & Dog. Producers include Statham for Punch Palace (his own company), Thomas Benski for Lumina Studios, Ritchie and Ivan Atkinson for Toff Guy Films, and John Friedberg for Black Bear. It is widely believed that Black Bear will be behind the handling of the international sales of the film, as well as its launch in the American market.

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Layer Cake, based on Connolly’s 2000 novel of the same name, marked the directorial debut of Matthew Vaughn, who then went on to produce Ritchie and Statham’s major hit Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels as well as its spiritual successor Snatch. A sequel to the film, with Ritchie and Statham attached, has been in talks for over a decade, with rumours of Statham being set to play Craig’s character dating all the way back to 2013. Assuming the sequel is directly adapted from the novel, it will follow an anonymous London drug dealer known as X and will be filled with sex, scams, narcotics, and dirty money.

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Danny Humby

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Danny is a freelance media creative with a background spanning marketing, journalism and governance. From 2021 to 2024 he was Chair of the Student Radio Association and is currently a Trustee at Chichester Festival Theatre. He holds an MSc in Marketing and a BA in Film and Television from Solent University, and remains passionate about supporting young people, the arts, and charitable organisations to help broaden their reach and impact. He can be found under @popcornandpace on Instagram.

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