Paul Feig Has a Mission Planned for Jason Statham in Potential 'Spy 2'

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Melissa McCarthy and Jason Statham in ‘Spy’ (Photo: Larry Horricks/20th Century Fox/Everett Collection)

Director Paul Feig is only weeks away from the release of his much-debated Ghostbusters remake, but he seems already to be thinking ahead to a sequel for Spy, the hit comedy he directed last summer starring Melissa McCarthy.

In Spy, McCarthy played a desk-bound CIA analyst, Susan Cooper, who goes undercover in the field for the first time to prevent a global attack. It earned a solid $110.8 million at the U.S. box office, plus another $124.8 million internationally on a $65 million budget, according to Box Office Mojo.

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In an interview with Empire, the director called Spy “another world that I don’t want to walk away from. It’s the first thing I did that I set up to be a possible franchise and Melissa is dying to do it. I have a story for it, and a funny idea that will kick it off that involves [costar Jason] Statham.”

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The action star’s dim-witted, deadpan Rick Ford was a scene-stealer in a cast that included Rose Byrne, Jude Law, Allison Janney, and Morena Baccarin, providing Statham an opportunity to put a fun twist on the dead-serious tough-guy roles we’ve come to expect from him.

“Susan Cooper is one of my favorite characters I’ve ever come up with, but Rick Ford is possibly the one I’ll take to the grave with me,” Feig told Empire. “Will he get any more self-aware in the sequel? No, God, no. He’ll get less self-aware.”

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Ford was last seen going “off to sea” on a lake, so it will be interesting to see how Feig and Statham accomplish that goal.

Feig’s Ghostbusters arrives at theaters on July 15.

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