The success of The Beekeeper seems to have led to a resurgence in the popularity of Statham’s back catalog. His 2005 action thriller sequel Transporter 2 has managed to climb its way into the Top 10 streaming chart on Netflix. On the week of January 8 through January 14 – the week that The Beekeeper arrived in theaters and bolstered Statham’s star power – Transporter 2 made it to the no. 2 spot in Netflix’s Top 10 movies, just behind the brand-new Netflix original Lift. Transporter 2 scored a massive 5.8 million views in that week alone.
It’s clear that after watching The Beekeeper, many viewers were hungry for more Statham action, which led them to watch Transporter 2 on Netflix. Since the Transporter franchise has found a new life on streaming, and audiences clearly still respond to Statham’s Frank Martin character, it might be time for Statham to revisit the role in a new Transporter sequel. The last entry in the series – 2015’s The Transporter Refueled – made the mistake of trying to replace Statham. The producers should take another crack at Transporter 4 with the actor who made the franchise a hit in the first place.
Even Transporter’s Director Is Ready For More Jason Statham Sequels
Director Louis Leterrier, who helmed Transporter 2, has said that he’s open to returning to the franchise for another movie with Statham. Leterrier recently reunited with Statham when the former directed the latest Fast & Furious sequel, Fast X, and the latter reprised his role as Deckard Shaw. During the press tour for Fast X, Leterrier said he’d be open to making Transporter 4 with Statham. Leterrier said that working with Statham again on Fast X was “a true pleasure,” and that teaming up with him for a new Transporter movie “would be a dream.”
In the same interview, Leterrier said that very little changed about their working relationship all these years later, so they could pick up where they left off. Statham turned down the chance to appear in The Transporter Refueled due to business reasons, not creative reasons, so there’s a chance he’d be open to returning for another Transporter movie. Maybe a new Jason Statham-starring Transporter movie will come together after all, and the fan base can collectively forget that The Transporter Refueled ever happened.