Yara Shahidi will star opposite Jason Statham in “The Beekeeper 2,” the forthcoming sequel to Miramax’s hit action movie.
“The Beekeeper 2,” distributed worldwide by Amazon MGM Studios and produced and financed by Miramax, is expected to start production this fall, with Jeremy Irons also returning. Details of Shahidi’s role are being kept under wraps.
Timo Tjahjanto, who recently helmed “Nobody 2” for Universal, following a string of massive Indonesian hits (“The Shadow Strays,” “The Night Comes for Us” and “The Big Four”) on Netflix, directs from a script by Kurt Wimmer, who penned the first film. Statham also returns to produce the sequel through his Punch Palace Productions shingle, alongside Chris Long (via Longshot Productions) and Wimmer.
In “The Beekeeper,” Statham stars as Adam Clay, a retired government assassin (a former “Beekeeper” operative turned actual honeycomb minder), who sets off on a quest for vengeance when his kindhearted landlady (Phylicia Rashad) is maliciously targeted in a phishing attack. The action-conspiracy thriller, directed by David Ayer, was a buzzy box office hit and ultimately grossed $162 million worldwide.
In an interview ahead of the first film’s release, Statham teased the possibility of a sequel. “The whole movie escalates in terms of the action. And it goes through an incredible, great crescendo,” he told Variety. “The whole world [of the film] has a mythology of the ‘beekeeping’ world. If we were fortunate enough to make a sequel, we have a whole world that we can dive into.”
Shahidi is best known from her breakout role in the Emmy and Golden Globe-winning ABC series “Black-ish,” and as the star and executive producer of its long-running spinoff series, Freeform’s “Grown-ish.” She also executive produced and starred in Amazon MGM’s coming-of-age film, “Sitting in Bars With Cake,” and will next star in Catherine Hardwicke’s indie drama “Street Smart.” Shahidi continues to create and produce film and TV projects under her banner, 7th Sun Productions, alongside her business partner and mother, Keri Salter-Shahidi. She is repped by CAA, Linden Entertainment, 2PM Sharp and The Nord Group.