Jason Statham set to star in noir thriller Parker

Jason Statham is set to take the title role in Parker , a noir thriller from Taylor Hackford.

The film will be adapted from Donald Westlake's series of novels, which has previously inspired films like Point Blank (and remake Payback ) and The Outfit .

Parker is a career criminal who's not averse to killing when the need arises, but he does live by his own moral code which includes a Robin Hood-esque rule of only robbing from those who can afford it (he doesn't give to the poor though).

The character (never given a first name) featured in 24 of Westlake's novels, so this is another Statham vehicle that has franchise potential.

Some of the action man's recent action output has been a bit 'meh' ( The Mechanic didn't set anyone's world on fire), so it'll be interesting to see what he does under the watch of a director like Hackford.

On this change of pace, Hackford says: "I don't want to get stuck in a genre. What I like the most about this piece of material is that you can take a genre piece like this and turn it into a great movie."

Hackford directed Jamie Foxx to an Oscar in Ray ; will he tap into hitherto undiscovered depths in The Stath?

Matt Maytum is the former Editor of Total Film magazine. Over the past decade, Matt has worked in various roles for TF online and in print, including at GamesRadar+. Bucket-list-ticking career highlights have included reporting from the set of Tenet and Avengers: Infinity War, as well as covering Comic-Con, TIFF and the Sundance Film Festival.