‘Viva La Madness’: Guy Ritchie Resurrects ‘Layer Cake’ Sequel With Jason Statham, Vinnie Jones, Jason Isaacs, Babs Olusanmokun, Ben Foster & More Among Cast

You may remember Matthew Vaughn‘s feature debut “Layer Cake” that helped establish a pre-James Bond Daniel Craig as a leading man playing a nameless but talented drug dealer trying to go straight, only to be pulled even deeper into the international criminal underworld. Well, that film was based on a novel by J.J. Connolly, and he also penned the follow-up “Viva La Madness” that was once being developed as a starring vehicle for Jason Statham, only for it to never materialize over multiple decades.

It was announced that Vaughn’s former creative partner, Guy Ritchie, has snatched up “Viva La Madness” as production on it has quietly already started in London with an impressive cast that includes Statham (stepping in the shoes of Craig’s nameless character from “Layer Cake”) and Vinnie Jones, who is a former infamous football player turned tough-guy actor featured in Ritchie projects such as “Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels,” “Snatch” and the recent series iteration of “The Gentlemen” (season two on the way at Netflix).

READ MORE: 14 Must-See February Films: ‘Wuthering Heights,’ ‘Pillion,’ ‘Crime 101’ & More

The Caribbean-set sequel novel’s synopsis from Amazon:

In “Viva la Madness,” the anonymous hero of ‘Layer Cake’ is stranded in the Caribbean, itching for the gangster life he left behind–but he’s still a wanted man back home. Soon, he joins forces with two robust London criminals: the menacing Sonny King and his paranoid partner Roy “Twitchy” Burns. From the beach to an urban underworld, Viva la Madness moves to trans-Atlantic drug deals and high-tech electronic fraud, portrayed with the same uncanny believability. A dazzling combination of London low-life and Caribbean high-life, readers will find this antihero’s voice authentic and whiplash-inducing in equal shares.

Unsurprisingly, the supporting cast of “Viva La Madness” is just as impressive with Jason Isaacs (“The White Lotus”), Babs Olusanmokun (“Dune,” “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare,” “Wrath of Man”), Camila Mendes (“Palm Springs”), Ben Foster (“Hell or High Water”), Jonny Lee Miller (“Trainspotting”), and Raúl Alejandro (“La Reina del Flow”).

Support independent movie journalism to keep it alive. Sign up for The Playlist Newsletter. All the content you want and, oh, right, it’s free.

Connolly co-wrote the script with Ritchie (we’ll see how close it will be to the original book), as the Black Bear (who is also distributing his latest effort, “In The Grey” on April 10) will distribute the crime thriller domestically, with Amazon MGM Studios handling international markets. “Viva La Madness” was originally developed by Statham for Punch Palace Productions and Thomas Benski for Lumina Studios, who are producing alongside Ritchie andIvan Atkinson for Toff Guy Films and John Friedberg at Black Bear.