Jason Statham already has Expendables 2, Parker and Hummingbird on the "upcoming" slate, and James Franco has recently racked up Oz: The Great And Powerful, The Iceman, Lovelace and Spring Breakers. But as if they weren't busy enough, both are now also set to collide in Homefront, on a screenplay generously provided by Sylvester Stallone.
The action movie will see Statham as ex-DEA agent Broker attempting, as is often the way of these things, to leave a violent past behind and settle somewhere quiet. Said somewhere, however, can unfortunately boast a meth-pushing ganglord called Gator, which is Franco's role. And y'know, we're guessing the town ain't big enough for the both of them.
This will be Franco's second drugs kingpin in recent memory, following Spring Breakers. Lest we forget, Gator was the name of Will Ferrell's pimp alter-ego in The Other Guys. Whether Franco will choose to strut around speaking in a bizarre 70s gangsta stylee and referring to himself in the third person remains to be seen. But it actually wouldn't surprise us.
Statham, meanwhile, has got these roles down by now, but with Hummingbird and Parker looking to rather tweak the Stath formula, maybe this looked like a safe retreat to reassure the fanbase (i.e. us).
The project's coming together under the Millennium Films banner, naturally, and it'll be directed by Gary Fleder (Runaway Jury, Things To Do In Denver When You're Dead). Stallone will also produce, with Avi Lerner serving as executive producer. "Sly's script is fantastic, and James and Jason are remarkable," says Lerner. "I cannot think of a better group to put this film on the big screen."
Shooting starts in New Orleans in September.