Jason Statham circles action-thriller, Echelon

When you need a rugged action star capable of making the dispatching of his enemies look like a thing of casual beauty, who's the first actor you think of?  Apparently, it's Eric Bana. The Aussie actor was attached to star in Echelon, a new flick based on Firewall, the third book in a popular series of novels by Andy McNab. For whatever reason, Bana vacated the role and now Jason Statham appears to be next on the list.

Deadline reports Statham would be playing Nick Stone, a former member of the British Army turned wandering mercenary who takes on "deniable" operations.  The film will mark the directorial debut of Simon Crane, a veteran stunt coordinator who most recently worked on two Angelina Jolie productions, The Tourist and Salt.

Any chance to see Statham kick more ass is ok with me, especially after the greatness that was The Mechanic. Since Crane has worked with Jolie so many times before(he also worked with her on Mr. and Mrs. Smith and Tomb Raider), any chance she'll come aboard for this one? I wouldn't hold my breath, but you never know!