I didn't see the remake of Charles Bronson's THE MECHANIC, but I guess this means it had a different ending.
Summit has announced that MECHANIC: RESURRECTION will open in wide release in January 2016. Jason Statham will return as hitman Arthur Bishop, but this time he's got an even more formidable supporting cast: Michelle Yeoh, Jessica Alba, and Oscar-winner Tommy Lee Jones.
The logline for this one makes it sound way broader in scope than its predecessor:
When someone from his past forces him back into the business, Bishop has to complete an impossible list of assassinations of the most dangerous men in the world.
Dennis Gansel (WE ARE THE NIGHT, THE FOURTH STATE) takes over directing duties from Simon West.
I thought, if anything, any sequels would go the way of THE MARINE 2 or BEHIND ENEMY LINES 2 with a new DTV-friendly lead, especially considering THE MECHANIC only pulled down less than 75% of its production budget domestically (it fared better overseas, but still maybe might've only broken even after DVD/Blu). Still, Statham's star power is at its lowest point in years after a long string of failures, including the most recent EXPENDABLES, and THE MECHANIC is (shockingly) his highest domestic performer as a solo lead since TRANSPORTER 3 back in '08. It's a good time for him to play it relatively safe until an ideal showcase for his not unformidable talents comes along.
But that doesn't explain how they got Tommy Lee Jones and Michelle Yeoh involved. Unless they're dumping even more money into this thing this time around for some reason.
MECHANIC: RESURRECTION will rise again on January 22nd, 2016.
