David Ayer Will Direct Jason Statham In The Bee Keeper For Miramax

The Jason Statham-led film "The Bee Keeper" has found a director. David Ayer, who helmed films like "Suicide Squad," "End of Watch," and "Fury," as well as the Netflix film "Bright," is taking on the upcoming action thriller, according to Deadline. Now, as to what this film is about, well, that's a weird one. The site says the movie is "steeped in the mythology of beekeeping, follows a man's personal journey of vengeance which takes on national stakes."

What the heck does that mean, and how is that connected to an action thriller? Are the bees doing the action? Is Statham fighting the bees? Protecting the bees? Voicing a bee? Yes, I'm being silly, but it's a legit question.

One assumes that the "mythology of beekeeping" is something that audiences might know about? There is an ancient Greek myth about the first beekeeper, but I would say more well-known is the line, "Go tell the bees." (One of the later books in Diana Gabaldon's "Outlander" series is called, "Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone.") This idea was popular in western Europe and the United States in the 18th and 19th centuries. It was a rule that a beekeeper's family had to tell the bees if the beekeeper passed away. (Other myths say they must be notified of deaths, births, and other things, and there are several rituals around it, such as rapping on the hives three times with keys, or covering the hives with black clothes to mourn.) Otherwise the bees will be offended and leave.

That sounds sort of cool. Bees were also looked at as messengers between the living and the dead, so that could be part of the deal. Do we have a former mercenary sort who has retired with a partner to keep bees, and he/she/they die? No one tells the bees, sure, but maybe they also don't tell Statham that this person is dead? Maybe they're missing and later found dead, and he figures it out when the bees leave? Then we get his national journey of vengeance or something? The last shot could be him talking to the dead person in the presence of a bee, who would presumably fly off to the afterlife to tell give this person the message?

An earlier story called this "a lightning-paced thriller," and that led me to the myth of how the Greek God Zeus (or in some versions, his Roman counterpart Jupiter) wanted to thank the bees for their honey, and the bees asked for a gift in exchange — a stinger to protect their honey from humans. Zeus gave the stinger, with the caveat that if the bees used it, they would die. Zeus (and Jupiter) are known for having a lightning symbol. 

Obviously this is all wild speculation, but I'm a sucker for mythology, and it gave me an excuse to look it up. (These myths vary a lot, so if you go searching for different versions, tell me about them on social.) By the way, you're also not supposed to curse around bees, but this is a Jason Statham movie.

According to the article, Miramax will be shopping this film at Cannes. The script comes to us from Kurt Wimmer ("Equilibrium," "Law Abiding Citizen"). Producers include Statham and Wimmer, with Bill Block for Miramax, and Chris Long for Cedar Park Studios. 

Jason Statham will be seen in the upcoming films "The Expendables 4," and "Meg 2: The Trench."