Chuck Dixon Promises Levon Cade Film Adaptation By Sylvester Stallone “Is Remarkably Faithful”
John F. Trent
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Sylvester Stallone is teaming up with Jason Statham and director David Ayer to adapt the first of Chuck Dixon’s Levon Cade novels, Levon’s Trade.
Levon’s Trade (2021), Bruno Books
Deadline reports the film hit the AFM market last week with Stallone penning a screenplay, Statham starring as Levon Cade, and Ayer directing with the film being produced by former Miramax boss Bill Block and his new BlockFilm production company.
The film is expected to adapt Chuck Dixon’s first Levon Cade novel, Levon’s Trade, that was published back in 2014. The plan is for the film to go into production in March 2024 in London.
Jason Statham as Lee Christmas in Expend4bles.
The official description for the novel reads, “Levon Cade left his profession behind to work construction. He just wants to live an anonymous life and be a good dad to his daughter. But when a local girl vanishes he’s asked to return to the skills that made him a mythic figure in the shadowy world of counter-terrorism.”
“His hunt for the missing college student takes him to the heart of a vicious criminal conspiracy. Levon’s actions create a chain reaction that threatens all he holds dear. It’s time for him to return to his trade. And Levon’s trade is death,” the description concludes.
Javon “Wanna” Walton (left) as Sam Cleary and Sylvester Stallone (right) as Joe Smith in SAMARITAN, directed by Julius Avery, a Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures film. Credit: Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures © 2022 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Dixon described the character to Bounding Into Comics back in 2018 while promoting Levon’s War, “He has his demons, but he’s never one to complain. He’s the original stoic warrior. There’s a stark contrast between Levon, the badass hunter/killer, and Levon, the loving father.”
“He’s trying to raise his daughter and keep her safe from his past and the consequences of some of the decisions he’s made as a civilian,” he continued. “The two have their share of adventures together and I think Merry is a whole lot tougher than her daddy thinks she is. The apple did not fall far from the tree.”
Levon’s War (2022), Bruno Books
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As for the movie, Block shared how excited he is for the film, “I am thrilled to be reuniting with some of my most talented and longstanding partners on Levon’s Trade. I first worked with David Ayer on Fury and it was immediately clear that he is a director at the very top of his game.”
“Jason and I have worked together on a number of films, and most recently the three of us collaborated on The Beekeeper. Levon’s Trade is going to be another spectacular action movie and I’m confident we’ve assembled the dream team to bring the first novel in this celebrated series to the big screen,” he added.
Jason Statham as Mr. Clay in The Beekeeper (2024), Amazon MGM Studios
Stallone was previously adapting Dixon’s novels into a TV series back in 2018, but it appears plans have changed and at least the first novel will get a feature film adaptation.
To that point, Dixon informed Bounding Into Comics, “Sly’s been talking about doing Levon Cade as either a feature or a series for years. Covid and the strikes interfered with getting the project started.”
He added, “His adaptation of the novel is remarkably faithful, which is flattering. Sly’s opened up the action a bit for the movie but it’s still very much my story and my characters as written.”
Levon’s Hunt (2022), Bruno Books
Are you looking forward to seeing what Stallone, Ayer, and Statham can cook up for Levon’s Trade?
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