It’s understandable why Jason Statham would be hesitant to commit to another three-movie deal without being able to read a screenplay, and when you compound the apparent lowball salary offer he received on top of that, no one can really blame him for moving on from the “Transporter” franchise. Hearing an actor admit that passing on a role was a calculated business decision rather than something motivated purely by artistic concerns just goes to show that Hollywood is as much a commercial field as a creative one.
After graduating from the “Transporter” trilogy, Statham went on to combine his star power with that of other action heroes in franchises like “The Expendables” and “Fast & Furious.” In some ways, it was the natural fulfillment of an early bit of shared-universe fun Statham had when he cameoed as his “Transporter” character in Michael Mann”s “Collateral,” handing a briefcase off to Tom Cruise’s hit man.
Things turned out alright for Statham, and you never know — maybe someday he’ll pop up as Frank Martin again in some other capacity, even if it’s just a car commercial like the one for BMW that first inspired the “Transporter” series.
