You’re getting a "Bourne Meets Big Lebowski" action thriller — from The Beekeeper 2 director

If you’re the sort who tires of seeing every modern spy film trying to out-grit Jason Bourne, you’ll probably be pleased to hear Miramax is taking the genre for a spin—or possibly a stumble—down the slacker lane. The latest project greenlit at the studio is called The Burnout, and it sounds like the kind of mad hybrid that could only come out of a boardroom late in the day: imagine The Big Lebowski filtered through a Jason Bourne lens. Yes, really.

The Burnout was announced with Timo Tjahjanto onboard as director, aiming to blend espionage with stoner comedy in Ibiza.

Ibiza Espionage, Coen Brothers Nonsense

This one’s still in the early stages (read: no cast announced and a healthy chance it could all collapse), but here’s the pitch: a washed-up ex-CIA operative, now living the ‘no shoes, no news’ lifestyle in Ibiza, gets reluctantly dragged back into international intrigue. The script’s from Tom O'Connor, who wrote both The Hitman’s Bodyguard—big on action and even bigger on daft banter—and The Courier, which was much more glum and Cumberbatchy. Current revisions are down to Hunter Toro.

The project has Arianna D'Andrea (Miramax’s VP of Film Production and Development) backing it in-house, and supposedly the studio has high hopes for the resulting comedy-spy caper. Whether it actually lives up to the ‘Big Lebowski meets Bourne’ promise, well, studios have form for over-selling this sort of comparison. Usually it ends up ‘The Hangover meets Tinker Tailor’ (and not in a good way). Still, at least they’re trying for something that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

Timo Tjahjanto: Not Just Brutality

If you’re unfamiliar, Timo Tjahjanto is an Indonesian director who picked up a bit of cult status for his work on the V/H/S/2 segment ‘Safe Haven’ (with Gareth Evans of The Raid fame), and then wrangled The Night Comes for Us, that Netflix fight flick with proper, no-nonsense brawling. Hollywood’s had its eye on him since, and he made his US studio debut recently with Nobody 2—the sequel to Bob Odenkirk’s action-comedy special. That one, despite only pulling in $43 million at the box office, earned good reviews and became a decent hit on streaming after the fact. Thematically, The Burnout isn’t far off, so it feels like Miramax wants him to keep milking this ‘ex-hard man repeatedly drawn back in’ formula.

• The Burnout: Announced at Miramax with Tjahjanto directing, script by Tom O’Connor, Hunter Toro revising, no cast yet.
• Premise: Disgraced CIA agent turned blissed-out Ibiza slacker gets reluctantly pulled back into spy games.
• Tjahjanto’s action bonafides: V/H/S/2 (w/ Gareth Evans), The Night Comes for Us, Nobody 2.
• The Beekeeper 2: Also with Tjahjanto, just got its first trailer, starring Jason Statham, coming 15 Jan 2027.

Tjahjanto’s not a random hire, either. Miramax is betting on him after working together on The Beekeeper 2, which has Jason Statham back for another round after the first pulled in $162 million worldwide. That sequel just revealed its first trailer and is on the books for a 15 January 2027 release via Amazon MGM.

Miramax’s Latest Play

If you’ve lost track, the studio has been surprisingly active lately under CEO Jonathan Glickman. His formula has been a blend of new ideas (like this) and whatever can be resurrected from Miramax’s back catalogue. Scary Movie’s return this summer made over $230 million worldwide, so clearly it’s working for them. The Burnout adds to their line-up alongside the Will Smith thriller Supermax, a Serendipity reboot, and yet another Statham-led film called John Doe.