Despite having dominated the genre for over 20 years, I'm shocked Statham's The Beekeeper became his biggest solo film to date, despite having already been a star for 20 years.

I like that Statham himself is a student of the genre, citing actors like Bruce Lee and Clint Eastwood as his idols. Statham has worked with many other icons, including Bruce Willis in The Expendables movie franchise. I think it's near impossible to be a fan of action movies and not love Die Hard, which changed the genre forever. The film soon received a slew of imitators, with actors like Wesley Snipes, Harrison Ford and Steven Seagal needing to make their own "Die Hard on a Blank" movies.

I Can't Believe Jason Statham Hasn't Made A "Die Hard On A Blank" Movie

"Die Hard on a Statham" is an incredible pitch

Despite nearly every action star having their own take on the film, I was surprised to realize Statham has never attempted a Die Hard-type of movie. This subgenre typically involves a group of terrorists/thieves taking over a location (e.g. a building, a plane, a space prison, etc) and a lone hero/small group fighting back; there will likely be a European villain involved too. Despite being a natural to front this kind of film, none of Statham's work falls underneath the "Die Hard on a Blank" banner - not yet, at least.

I suppose an argument could be made that the second half of Expendables 4 is "Die Hard on a Ship," but the tropes only apply to this despised 2023 sequel in the most superficial way. Any attempt to stick the Die Hard label on Statham's filmography is doomed to fail since none of them hit the right beats. I very much doubt Statham has been actively avoiding the subgenre, but at least for the near future, it doesn't appear that he'll be fronting a Die Hard scenario movie.

Bruce Willis made an uncredited cameo as Die Hard's John McClane in the 1993 action spoof Loaded Weapon 1.

I Think Every Action Star Needs Their Very Own Die Hard Movie

Dwayne Johnson's Skyscraper is just Die Hard in a Bigger Building

"Die Hard on a Blank" became the hot action formula for much of the 1990s, and every action star worth their salt made at least one example. Sylvester Stallone has Cliffhanger (AKA Die Hard on a Mountain), Harrison Ford saved the day with Air Force One (Die Hard on, ummm, Air Force One) while a modern example is Gerard Butler's Has Fallen trilogy. I love this subgenre because of how flexible it can be, and it's great to see certain filmmakers and actors bring their own tweaks to the formula.

Even Santa Claus (as played by David Harbour) got in on the action with Violent Night. These movies are often crafted around the personas of their stars, which creates interesting new wrinkles. Liam Neeson's Non-Stop takes its Die Hard on a Plane setup very seriously, whereas Dwayne Johnson's Skyscraper - essentially Die Hard in a Bigger Building - plays like a live-action cartoon. That's why I want to see Jason Statham play in the Die Hard sandbox since he could bring a fun new energy to this subgenre.

I Hope Statham's Potential New Franchise Fulfills My Die Hard Wish

Levon's Night is even set at Christmas!

One of my most anticipated films of 2025 is Levon's Trade, which reunites Statham with Beekeeper helmer David Ayer. The movie adapts the Levon Cade book series by Chuck Dixon, with no less than Sylvester Stallone writing and producing the adaptation. That's a solid combination of elements for a great action film, and if the Levon Cade series becomes a movie franchise, then sequel Levon's Night could finally give Statham his own Die Hard.

... I couldn't help but picture Statham being the one sneaking around and snapping necks in the middle of a snowstorm while reading Levon's Night.

The second novel finds Levon and his daughter living in a small, isolated Maine town. Close to Christmas, a ruthless (what else?) gang of mercenaries take it over, looking to retrieve some diamonds. Once Levon realizes what's happening, he dusts off his old skills and takes out the gang one by one. In truth, Levon's Night isn't as good as Levon's Trade and takes a little too long to ramp up. Still, I couldn't help but picture Statham being the one sneaking around and snapping necks in the middle of a snowstorm whilst reading.

Levon's Trade has every shot at earning a sequel or two, and if it does, I hope Levon's Night is up next. Not only would it give Statham a chance to the Die Hard club, but it would drop him right in the middle of a unique action setup. Of course, time will tell if Jason Statham and David Ayer's next film is a hit, while the star himself is hardly hurting for work.

Source: The Numbers