Jason Statham’s return to the action genre with Guy Ritchie in the director’s chair is as close as it’s ever been to releasing in theaters. The pair famously first worked together on Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, which they followed up with the seminal Snatch. Since then, Jason Statham has made a name for himself as one of the best action stars of the 21st century. Meanwhile, Guy Ritchie churned out the occasional hit, like The Gentleman (both the movie and the Netflix series), as well as a live-action remake of Aladdin (for some reason), and the Tomb Raider knock-off, Fountain of Youth. We’ve all been desperate for Ritchie and Jason Statham to work together on an all-out action movie, and the time has finally come.
Guy Ritchie and Jason Statham’s new action thriller, Viva La Madness, was officially announced in October 2025. Ritchie and Statham are known for being hard-working individuals, and it’s clearly true, as the film has already made it into production and out the other side. That’s right. Viva La Madness has officially wrapped production.
Collider broke the news, revealing that Viva La Madness has been in post-production for over a month. While promoting his new, Henry Cavill-led thriller, In The Grey, Guy Ritchie teased, “I think we finished that about a month ago.” The writer/director continued, ” It was a great pleasure working with Jason. It’s true to its title. By the way, Jason and I have been trying to make that for about 10 years or more, so it was a catharsis making it. It should be great. We’re only a month or so into the editing, but it’s pretty great fun. I’m not sure when we wrap that up, when that comes out, but great fun, and I had a wonderful time making it.”
‘Viva La Madness’ Is a Sequel (Kind Of) To a Modern Crime Classic
Viva La Madness isn’t just the reunion of Jason Statham and Guy Ritchie, this time in a full-blown action thriller; it’s also an unofficial follow-up to a modern classic of the crime thriller genre. Directed by Matthew Vaughn and starring Daniel Craig, Layer Cake is one of the best crime thrillers of the 2000s. In a confusing twist of fate, Viva La Madness both is and isn’t a sequel to Vaughn’s movie.
Layer Cake is based on the book of the same name by J.J. Connolly, published in 2000. 11 years later, Connolly wrote a sequel, titled Viva La Madness. While Daniel Craig’s film remains a standalone, Guy Ritchie and Jason Statham will bring Connolly’s sequel to life in the upcoming Viva La Madness movie adaptation.
“It’s based on the book, and so for anyone familiar with the book, it’s a great, fun book,” Ritchie explained. “So, that’s the world, and it is mad. So, as I said, the clue’s in the title, in Viva la Madness. So, it should be great fun. I think it is.”
Guy Ritchie’s new action thriller, In the Grey, is in theaters now.
- Birthdate
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July 26, 1967
- Birthplace
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London, England, UK
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
