LOS ANGELES — Ted Lasso standout and Emmy winner Hannah Waddingham has officially signed on to star opposite action icon Jason Statham in David Leitch’s highly anticipated, meta-action comedy Jason Statham Stole My Bike.
The high-budget project, backed by Black Bear and Leitch’s 87North banner, has been quietly filming across the UK and Malta since June. Waddingham’s casting marks the first major roster addition since the film’s initial announcement generated significant internet buzz earlier this year.
While finer details regarding the plot are being locked tightly in a vault, the film’s central hook is unapologetically absurd. Statham is set to play what insiders have cheekily dubbed the “role of a lifetime”—portraying a heavily fictionalized, fourth-wall-breaking version of himself: global action superstar Jason Statham. Waddingham’s exact character remains under wraps, but her proven ability to balance sharp comedic timing with intense screen presence makes her the ideal counterweight to Statham’s deadpan, tough-guy persona.
A Powerhouse Action-Comedy Reunion
The project serves as a major reunion hub for the creative team. Waddingham previously worked with Leitch on his 2024 stunt-man love letter The Fall Guy, where she played a cynical, high-strung film producer. Statham has his own history with the filmmaker, having led Leitch’s 2019 box-office hit Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw.
Interestingly, it was Statham himself who originally brought the project to Leitch after a scheduling window opened up in his characteristically packed filming lineup. The screenplay was penned by Alison Flierl (BoJack Horseman), based on a story she developed alongside Scott Chernoff.
Production insiders indicate the movie is being mounted with a budget north of $80 million. Despite Leitch’s reputation for visceral, hard-R choreography seen in John Wick and Atomic Blonde, Jason Statham Stole My Bike is explicitly aiming for a PG-13 rating. It is designed to be a massive summer crowd-pleaser packed with elaborate, heavily stylized action sequences and a heavy dose of self-aware Hollywood satire.
”The setup is basically Statham leaning entirely into the brilliant comedic self-parody he first flashed in Paul Feig’s Spy,” a source close to the production noted. “It’s taking everything people expect from a Jason Statham movie and spinning it on its head.”
Waddingham’s Action Star Ascent
For Waddingham, the high-profile casting continues an impressive, deliberate transition into major Hollywood genre fare. Beyond her beloved, award-winning tenure as Rebecca Welton on Ted Lasso, the West End theater veteran has spent the last year solidifying her status as a legitimate action-comedy force. She can currently be seen starring opposite Octavia Spencer in Prime Video’s newly released espionage series Ride or Die, and she recently wrapped filming a major role as a naval commander in Tom Cruise’s upcoming Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.
With principal photography moving at a breakneck pace, Leitch will shift directly into post-production later this summer. Black Bear has already staked out a prime theatrical release date for the film, locking in a North American debut for August 6, 2027. Amazon MGM Studios has secured international distribution rights for the vast majority of overseas markets.
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