Yara Shahidi Joins Jason Statham in THE BEEKEEPER 2

Yara Shahidi ("Black-ish", "Grown-ish", "Sitting in Bars With Cake") has signed on to star in the upcoming Jason Statham sequel "The Beekeeper 2". The new installment is distributed worldwide by Amazon MGM Studios and produced and financed by Miramax. Production is expected to start this fall.

Details of Shahidi's role are being kept under wraps. Jeremy Irons will also return. The film will be directed by Timo Tjahjanto ("Nobody 2", "The Night Comes For Us") from a script by Kurt Wimmer, who also penned the first film. Statham will produce the sequel through his Punch Palace Productions banner, alongside Chris Long via Longshot Productions, and Wimmer.

In the frst film, Statham stars as Adam Clay, a retired assassin (Beekeeper) who was once part of a clandestine, elite group of former special forces operatives who protect the United States (the hive) outside of government control and work to maintain order when the system fails. Clay sets off on a quest for vengeance when his kindhearted landlady is maliciously targeted in a phishing attack. "The Beekeeper" was directed by David Ayer and was a box office hit, grossing $162 million worldwide.

Statham teased the sequel in an interview saying: "The whole movie escalates in terms of the action. And it goes through an incredible, great crescendo. 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 will next star in Catherine Hardwicke's indie drama "Street Smart" alongside Isabelle Fuhrman, Michael Cimino, Paris Jackson, Skeet Ulrich, Virginia Madsen and Marcia Gay Harden.

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