Amazon MGM Studios has purchased the Jason Statham-starring actioner “Levon’s Trade” for a theatrical release. The film is directed by David Ayer based off a script written by Sylvester Stallone.

The film was originally announced in October 2023 and is based on the novel by famed comics author Chuck Dixon. The film follows Levon Cade (Statham), a reformed criminal on the straight and narrow. When his boss’s teenage daughter disappears, Cade is asked to use the skills that made him a legend in the world of black ops. He enters into the heart of a deep criminal conspiracy that threatens his and his daughter’s lives.

Shooting starts on the movie in London this spring.

The film comes two days after “Road House” director Doug Liman chastised the studio for giving his Jake Gyllenhaal-starring remake of the Patrick Swayze ’80s movie a streaming-only release (it will premiere at SXSW). In an op-ed to Deadline Liman said, “Amazon asked me and the film community to trust them and their public statements about supporting cinemas, and then they turned around and are using ‘Road House’ to sell plumbing fixtures.”

Liman argues that taking the film straight to streaming hurts everyone involved.

“That hurts the filmmakers and stars of Road House who don’t share in the upside of a hit movie on a streaming platform,” the director wrote. “And they deprive Jake Gyllenhaal — who gives a career-best performance — the opportunity to be recognized come award season.”

Since then Amazon MGM has emphasized theatrical releases, starting with the announcement they’ve acquired the Chris Pratt-starring thriller “Mercy.” On Friday alone the studio announced two additional features, alongside “Levon’s Trade,” that will garner a theatrical release: Zoe Kravitz’s directorial debut “Blink Twice” and the Aubrey Plaza coming-of-age comedy “My Old Ass” (which the studio is final negotiations on).

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