Jason Statham starrer The Beekeeper 2 is now in production

Jason Statham is officially back in the game as Adam Clay for The Beekeeper 2, production of which has now officially begun. The first film earned critical acclaim, raking in $162 million at the box office and turning Statham into the most lethal honeycomb tender in cinema history. Now, the David Ayer film is set for a sequel, this time with a different helmer to maintain the high-octane energy of the first installment.

Indonesian action maestro Timo Tjahjanto, who has previously worked on films like The Night Comes for Us, The Shadow Strays, The Big Four, and Universal’s Nobody 2, is set to direct The Beekeeper 2. Ayer will remain on the team as a producer alongside Statham through Punch Palace Productions, and screenwriter Kurt Wimmer is returning to pen the story for the sequel as well.

Among the cast, Jeremy Irons is reprising his role as Wallace Westwyld alongside Statham's Clay, and Yara Shahidi is joining them in an undisclosed role. More cast details are awaited, as the film has just entered its production stage.

As for what fans can expect from The Beekeeper 2, Ayer gave a small sneak peek back in January during an interview with Inverse:

"We cracked the door a little bit into the 'Beekeeper' world, and I would love to learn more about them. I’m extremely curious: Where do they come from? Who are they? How do they operate? What happened in the system? Did it break? Did the Beekeepers break? Do we have to fix the Beekeepers? Who fixes the Beekeepers when the Beekeepers need fixing? It’s just an amazing mythology. There’s so much room to explore."

More details on The Beekeeper 2 are awaited for now.

A quick recap of the first film before you get into The Beekeeper 2

Few action thrillers in recent memory have stung the box office quite like The Beekeeper. Released on January 12, 2024, by Amazon MGM Studios in the U.S. and Sky Cinema in the U.K., David Ayer’s film turned a modest $40 million budget into a global haul of $162.6 million. Critics were surprisingly kind too, calling it sharp, stylish, and packed with enough Statham-fueled vengeance to satisfy even the most cynical action fan.

At its heart is Adam Clay, played with cold precision by Jason Statham. Once part of a clandestine human intelligence agency known as the “Beekeepers,” Clay has retired to a quiet life tending hives in rural Massachusetts. That peace shatters when his kind landlady, Eloise Parker, played by Phylicia Rashad, is ruined by a phishing scam and takes her own life. Her daughter Verona, played by Emmy Raver-Lampman, an FBI agent, initially suspects Clay of foul play, only to realize he is on a far more dangerous path.

Joining Statham in the film were Minnie Driver as CIA Director Janet Harward, Bobby Naderi as Agent Matt Wiley, Don Gilet as Deputy FBI Director Jackson Prigg, Megan Le as rival Beekeeper Anisette Landress, and Michael Epp as Pettis. It’s not yet known if these stars will return for The Beekeeper 2, but fans can always hope!