Lionsgate UK want Jason Statham in the big screen update of CI5: The Professionals. The Professionals was a gritty UK crime drama that ran for five years and was a hit in the seventies and eighties. It dealt with an ex special forces mercenary (Bodie) and a detective (Doyle) from the more dangerous areas of London drafted in to a new undercover unit known as CI5. The agenda for CI5 was to "fight fire with fire" and take a proactive approach to tackling serious crime such as assassination and terrorism.
The Stath' is at the top of their wish list and it has been made known. The rest of their wish list include Gerard Butler, Tom Hardy and Liam Neeson or Gary Oldman for their Scots commander Cowley.
For anyone familiar with the show it was very dark and drew in criticism every week for portrayals of violence, martial arts use, murder and assassination but it was always in the context of the show. CI5 could be updated as such an idea would be very relevant in todays world and now would be the perfect time to make a Professionals movie. Statham as Bodie and Butler as Doyle with Gary Oldman as Cowley? I'm in already.