Yara Shahidi Joins Jason Statham For The Beekeeper 2, Sequel To One Of Last Year’s Best Action Hits

Jason Statham is suiting up for another round of righteous mayhem, and this time he’s bringing Yara Shahidi with him. Yep, The Beekeeper 2 is officially buzzing, and Amazon MGM Studios isn’t wasting time after the first movie overperformed.

What we know (and what they’re keeping quiet)

• Yara Shahidi (Grown-ish) has joined the sequel opposite Jason Statham.
• Statham is back as Adam Clay, a retired clandestine human intelligence operative who, in the first film, went scorched-earth after his kind landlady got hit by a phishing scam that drained a charity she ran.
• Jeremy Irons returns as Wallace Westwyld, formerly CIA Director and now head of security at Danforth Enterprises.
• Director swap: David Ayer did the first film; Timo Tjahjanto (recently directed Nobody 2) is taking over for the sequel.
• Script is by Kurt Wimmer, returning from the first movie.
• Amazon MGM Studios is behind it, and cameras are expected to roll this fall.
• Shahidi’s role is locked down for now — no character details yet.
• The Beekeeper turned into a word-of-mouth hit last year, pulling in over $162.6 million worldwide.

Timo Tjahjanto’s pitch: Statham as his Punisher

If you thought the original leaned into creative brutality, Tjahjanto sounds like he wants to go even harder. He openly compares Adam Clay to his favorite Marvel vigilante and basically admits he’s treating this like his unofficial Punisher movie.

"If I can’t make a Punisher film yet, then I’ll turn Adam Clay into my own version of The Punisher. Statham has that stoic Frank Castle quality, and Adam Clay gets really, really creative with his violence."

That tracks with how the first movie played — a straight-ahead revenge burner with a surprisingly colorful toolkit.

Why this sequel happened so fast

The first Beekeeper kind of snuck up on people. It was marketed like another mid-budget January brawler but landed bigger than expected, and even some folks burned out on late-period Statham admitted it gave him his best heroic lead since the Transporter days. One critic even called it his Rambo moment. So, yeah, Amazon MGM moving quickly makes sense.

Bottom line: Shahidi is a smart add, Irons brings some returning gravitas, and Tjahjanto steering the ship suggests the sequel won’t be shy about turning the sting up. Production starts this fall, so expect casting secrets — including who Shahidi is playing — to shake loose soon.