{"id":536397,"date":"2025-10-29T23:15:15","date_gmt":"2025-10-29T23:15:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/536397\/"},"modified":"2025-10-29T23:15:15","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T23:15:15","slug":"jason-statham-and-guy-ritchie-reuniting-for-reboot-of-the-franchise-that-got-daniel-craig-the-role-of-james-bond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/536397\/","title":{"rendered":"Jason Statham and Guy Ritchie Reuniting for Reboot of the Franchise That Got Daniel Craig the Role of James Bond"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article covers a developing story. Continue to check back with us as we will be adding more information as it becomes available.<\/p>\n

Welcome back to the Layer Cake<\/a>, son. Guy Ritchie<\/strong> and Jason Statham<\/strong><\/a> are teaming up once again \u2014 and this time, they\u2019re bringing a familiar kind of British mayhem back to the big screen. Variety has confirmed the duo will reunite for Viva La Madness<\/strong>, a new action-thriller based on J.J. Connolly\u2019s<\/strong> 2011 novel, the follow-up to Layer Cake<\/strong><\/a>. But before anyone starts calling it Layer Cake 2, the film is being billed as a stand-alone, original feature<\/strong> \u2014 not a direct sequel, spin-off, or continuation of Matthew Vaughn\u2019s<\/strong> 2004 cult hit. So it’s kind of Layer Cake 2, kind of not. Like a slice of Layer Cake? Production is slated to begin in January 2026<\/strong>, with Ritchie writing and directing, and Statham currently the only confirmed cast member.<\/p>\n

Viva La Madness marks the sixth collaboration<\/strong> between Ritchie and Statham<\/a>, who first joined forces over 25 years ago on Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels<\/strong> and later teamed up for Snatch, Revolver, Wrath of Man, and Operation Fortune<\/strong>. The project was initiated by Statham himself, alongside producer Thomas Benski<\/strong> (Gangs of London), through their companies Punch Palace Productions<\/strong> and Lumina Studios<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Plot details haven’t been released but fortunately for us, there’s a book we can look up. Connolly\u2019s darkly comic novel follows an anonymous London drug dealer<\/a> \u2014 simply known as X \u2014 navigating a web of sex, scams, and dirty money in the criminal underworld.<\/p>\n

What Was ‘Layer Cake’ About?<\/p>\n

The original Layer Cake film<\/a>, based on Connolly\u2019s 2000 debut novel, became a cult classic and helped launch Daniel Craig<\/strong> into global stardom. Indeed, it’s often cited as the movie that got him the role of James Bond in Casino Royale<\/strong>. Directed by Matthew Vaughn, it was known for its razor-sharp pacing, slick editing, and stylish depiction of London\u2019s criminal underworld. Rumors of a Layer Cake sequel with Ritchie and Statham attached have been floating around for more than a decade \u2014 dating back to reports in 2013 that Statham would take over Craig\u2019s role.<\/p>\n

For Ritchie, Viva La Madness continues his return to British gangster storytelling<\/a> \u2014 a genre that made him famous and that he\u2019s recently revisited with The Gentlemen, its Netflix spinoff, the Paramount+ crime series MobLand, and his upcoming project Wife & Dog. Stay tuned to Collider for all the latest on the future of the sequel that isn’t a sequel, and on both Guy Ritchie and Jason Statham.<\/p>\n

\"01222656_poster_w780.jpg\"<\/p>\n

\n

\n Release Date<\/strong>\n <\/dt>\n
\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJune 3, 2005<\/p>\n<\/dd>\n

\n Runtime<\/strong>\n <\/dt>\n
\n

\t\t\t\t105 Minutes<\/p>\n<\/dd>\n

\n Director<\/strong>\n <\/dt>\n
\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMatthew Vaughn<\/p>\n<\/dd>\n

\n Writers<\/strong>\n <\/dt>\n
\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJ.J. Connolly<\/p>\n<\/dd>\n

\n Producers<\/strong>\n <\/dt>\n
\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAdam Bohling<\/p>\n<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This article covers a developing story. Continue to check back with us as we will be adding more…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":536398,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3935],"tags":[77,3943,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-536397","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-movies","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-movies","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115460002984272785","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/536397","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=536397"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/536397\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/536398"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=536397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=536397"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=536397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}