Action-star Jason Statham will soon be seen facing-off (and possibly drop-kicking?) a giant prehistoric shark in The Meg, as it approaches theaters on August 10. As excitement grows for the film, it's crazy to think that we haven't seen Statham on the big screen since 2017's The Fate of the Furious. In that sequel, his character Deckard Shaw delivered a particularly scene-stealing performance alongside a baby named Carlos during a fight sequence on a plane. In the scene, Shaw fiercely protected Dom's son while combatting assassins, delivering a series of hilarious one-liners in-between, and checking on the headphone-wearing infant. Even though it looked like Statham had a blast partnering up with "Carlos" in his last movie, shooting a scene with a baby does come with challenges. Namely, that the lucky babies who appear in huge Hollywood films such as The Fate of the Furious probably have no idea what's happening at the time. Here's what Statham had to say about his unforgettable baby scene:
We had two babies and we did the best we could to keep (them) happy. It's a director's nightmare. You never know what they are going to come up with. But when the baby comes up with gold, it just brings the house down.
Jason Statham showed some great chemistry when working opposite a baby, and I have to hope he gives it another try in a future film. Soon after the release of The Fate of the Furious, Statham and his wife Rosie Huntington-Whiteley welcomed their first child Jack, who is now a one-year old. The actor certainly has had more face-time with kids now that he has one of his own to marvel at. Statham also told USA Today of his diaper-changing game, flaunting his confidence about it as he works to beat his best time.
You can relive Jason Sththams' amazing rapport with a baby in the Fate of the Furious plane battle sequence below.
Once upon a time, two of his Fate of the Furious co-stars Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson switched out their serious action star shoes for lighter family-comedies alongside child stars in The Pacifier for Diesel and The Game Plan and Tooth Fairy for Johnson. It brings a softer side to the actors and become a household name among an audience that can't usually watch their movies. I wonder if Jason Statham's co-stars will influence the action star to follow in his footsteps, now that he's gotten a taste of it and has a son of his own.
Thanks to scenes such as the above baby-inclusive fight, Jason Statham will soon be returning as Deckard Shaw along with Dwayne Johnson as Luke Hobbs in their Fast & the Furious spin-off Hobbs & Shaw, set to release in 2019. Statham is confident in director Dave Leitch to give the characters a grounded story for their characters. Leitch recently directed both Atomic Blonde and Deadpool 2, so perhaps some of the extreme bells and whistles in the recent entries into the Fast & the Furious franchise will be replaced with style and comedy found in Leitch's filmography. Until then, you can check out Jason Statham as he battles a creature of the deep in The Meg on August 10.
