The hive is active again. The Beekeeper 2, the high-octane sequel to this year’s surprise action hit, has officially landed a massive worldwide distribution deal with Amazon MGM Studios. Sources peg the deal at comfortably north of $50 million, showing the faith the studio has in turning this into a legitimate franchise, according to a report by Variety. Jason Statham will reprise his role as Adam Clay, the former black-ops agent turned bee-loving vigilante, with production on the sequel slated to begin this fall.

This time, the action will be directed by Timo Tjahjanto, the acclaimed filmmaker behind The Night Comes for Us and the upcoming Nobody 2, working from a screenplay by returning scribe Kurt Wimmer. The project is being produced by Miramax, which also handled the original, and negotiated the deal directly with Amazon. The original Beekeeper, directed by David Ayer, saw Statham‘s Clay embark on a ruthless mission of vengeance after a phishing scam devastated the life of his elderly landlady.

The film grossed $163 million worldwide, proving that Statham’s mix of stone-faced intensity and brutal action is still a major draw, especially when laced with puns about protecting the hive, stinging things, you get the picture. It also found continued success on Prime Video, where it became one of Amazon’s most streamed action titles of the year.

Is ‘The Beekeeper’ Worth Watching?

It’s great fun, as Collider‘s Nate Richard summed up nicely in his 8/10 review.

“The Beekeeper is exactly what the doctor ordered and then some. Not only does it deliver all the B-movie goodness you’d want, but it’s one of the most wild mainstream action movies to hit the big screen in a while… Jason Statham is a modern action icon. Like Gerard Butler, he’s one of the few movie stars left who can headline a non-IP driven action flick that feels like it came straight out of the 90s, and completely sell it.”

The Beekeeper fully embraces its over-the-top nature — from stapler smackdowns to blazing tech offices, and Statham’s Clay uttering lines like “protect the hive” with complete seriousness — and never flinches. Whether he’s crashing into tech offices or dishing out justice with whatever object is nearby, he commits fully, and that’s why he will remain one of the biggest action stars of his generation.

The Beekeeper is streaming now on Prime Video.

via Collider