On top of being a big box office hit, the original was also a surprise hit with critics.

Indonesian filmmaker Timo Tjahjanto is one of Hollywood’s most in-demand directors at the moment.

Having made several hard-hitting action flicks in his home country (Headshot, The Night Comes for Us, and The Shadow Strays) that became big Netflix hits, he will make his English-language feature debut this summer with Nobody 2.

The trailer for Nobody 2 was released earlier this week. In it, Bob Odenkirk’s government assassin turned family man attempts to enjoy a family vacation with his loved ones. He inevitably, however, stumbles into trouble.

On top of this, though, Tjahjanto is also set to direct the sequel to 2024’s action flick The Beekeeper. The original (currently streaming on NOW) saw Jason Statham play another government assassin, who set out for revenge after his kind-hearted landlady fell victim to a phishing scam.

Earlier this month, Deadline reported that Amazon MGM Studios secured worldwide distribution rights to The Beekeeper 2 in a $50 million deal.

JOE caught up with Tjahjanto to talk about the trailer for Nobody 2.

You can read his comments about the Bob Odenkirk flick right here.

But also during the conversation, we had to ask about The Beekeeper 2.

Raising the topic to Tjahjanto, the director said he was excited for the Statham sequel. This is before noting that, because The Beekeeper follow-up will take him to London, he may also visit Ireland while he’s nearby.

“Ireland has always been on my bucket list,” he added.

When we then asked Tjahjanto what it was about the first Beekeeper that made him excited to helm the sequel, he told JOE:

“I watched it and I just thought: ‘Holy crap, this film is kind of batshit. It’s kind of out of control.’ I love that chaotic sort of like: ‘Hey, there’s no line that we don’t cross here. It’s just going to these ridiculous places.’”

Most of all, though, Tjahjanto liked that even amongst all The Beekeeper’s craziness, it still allowed Statham’s action hero to be vulnerable.

Comparing this quality to Nobody 2, he added: “What I like about Nobody 2 is we allow the character [played by Odenkirk] to be vulnerable, and when I watch the first film, The Beekeeper, I was so taken by one line that Jason said.”

That line was: “Being old can be a lonely thing.”

Bob Odenkirk and Timo Tjahjanto on the set of Nobody 2

Quoting the line, Tjahjanto explained: “His character said that and I was like: ‘Alright, this is special,’ because rarely do you see Statham being in a vulnerable state.”

The director has already met with Statham about the sequel, which is reportedly set to start filming in the fall.

Tjahjanto said: “When I spoke to [Statham], I said: ‘Jason, one of my favourite films of yours is Hummingbird [Steven Knight’s underseen 2013 crime drama featuring a more dramatic turn from Statham].’

“And he was like: ‘Oh, that’s interesting. Why is it?’ and I was just like: ‘Because you were so freaking vulnerable there, in that film,’ and he just laughed.

“So, yeah, excited about [The Beekeeper 2] too,” the director said, before noting the thematic throughline between The Beekeeper 2 and Nobody 2.

Nobody 2 will be in cinemas on August 15th. The Beekeeper 2 does not have a release date yet.

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