It looks like the role that made Jason Statham a star in North America is going to be getting the reboot treatment. THE TRANSPORTER franchise began back in 2002 after Statham had appeared in Guy Ritchie‘s LOCK, STOCK, AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS and SNATCH, giving the gravel-voiced brit an action franchise all his own. Writer/producer Luc Besson would go on to make three films in THE TRANSPORTER series which also became a small screen show a few years back (season 2 hits TNT this fall). But, Besson and EuropaCorp have plans for not just one but three new films in the series.
The catch is, THE TRANSPORTER 4 through 6 will not star Jason Statham. His character of Frank Martin will still be the focus of the films but the new movies will be prequels. Going back and showing how Martin got to his line of work, THE TRANSPORTER 4 will be produced with Shanghai-based Fundamental Films. Depending on how well the fourth film fares, the fifth and sixth films will be fully co-produced in China.
I enjoyed the first two movies in the series for what they were. The third film just felt redundant, so I am not very excited for three more, especially without Jason Statham. While Statham has gone on to bigger projects, THE TRANSPORTER remains his movie. It will suck seeing someone else try to replicate the part. While it is a fairly generic role, Statham did make it his own.
THE TRANSPORTER 4 has no release date but is currently being presented to buyers, so expect production sometime this year, at the earliest.