Aubrey Plaza Joins Jason Statham Spy Film

Movies

Janet Snakehole is trading in Burt Macklin for Chev Chelios. Deadline exclusively reports that Aubrey Plaza will be starring opposite Jason Statham in Five Eyes, the developing spy action movie from director Guy Ritchie. Five Eyes will feature Statham as a British agent recruited by the Five Eyes intelligence coalition to infiltrate a weapons-dealing outfit and stop the sale of a doomsday device. The Brit will team up with an American “high-tech expert,” which will presumably be Plaza’s role. The script for Five Eyes is from Ivan Atkinson and Marn Davies, who wrote Guy Ritchie’s last movie, The Gentlemen. Most famous for her role on Parks and Recreation (where she was hilarious), Aubrey Plaza can now be seen in Happiest Season on Hulu.

If Aubrey Plaza is involved, I guess there’ll be a healthy dose of comedy in Five Eyes. That fits both with Guy Ritchie and the writers of The Gentlemen. If so, Aubrey Plaza should be a fun addition to the cast, and I think she’ll play off of Jason Statham well. Making her a techie is also a smart move, particularly as Statham’s character is described as a “guns-and-steel agent.” The analog vs. digital conflict is well-trod ground at this point, but I’m open to a new spin on it, and Jason Statham as the analog representative is perfect, as he’s pretty much the manliest man in movies right now. Aubrey Plaza can be wacky and silly, but she projects intelligence beneath the surface, and her antisocial detachment can be a good foil for Statham’s rough and tumble hardness with the right script. I have high hopes for Five Eyes; now they need to give Statham a great villain to fight, and maybe an equivalent high-tech nemesis for Plaza as well.

Does Five Eyes sound good to you? Are you a fan of Aubrey Plaza? What British actors will Guy Ritchie coax to fill out the cast? Let us know in the comments and stick around Geeks + Gamers for more movie news!