A Working Man: Exclusive Clip and Chat with Director David Ayer | IGN Fan Fest 2025

Reuniting after their sleeper hit The Beekeeper, director David Ayer and action star Jason Statham are back with A Working Man. The Amazon MGM Studios release, which opens in theaters on March 28, is an adaptation of Chuck Dixon’s book Levon’s Trade.

Statham portrays Levon Cade, a decorated military black ops soldier who now lives quietly as a construction worker. That is until his boss’s (Michael Peña) daughter is kidnapped by human traffickers. Now Levon is going to call upon his old skill set to bring her home while uncovering a vast network of corruption.

As part of this week’s IGN Fan Fest, David Ayer shared an exclusive clip from A Working Man with us, which you can watch via the player above or the embed below. In it, Levon confronts some bad guys and, well, what the hell do you think happens when a bunch of goons get on the wrong side of The Stath?!

Ayer was also generous enough to answer some of our questions about A Working Man via e-mail while shooting his next project overseas.

IGN: What makes Jason Statham such a relatable everyman (despite his characters always possessing a badass skill set precious few could)?

David Ayer: Jason is a guy that has worked his way up in life, started humbly-so he has that working man mindset. He is that man next door-incredibly gracious and respectful of everyone-there's a truth to what the audience sees.

IGN: Sylvester Stallone shares screenplay credit on A Working Man. What can you say about his involvement in the development and writing of the script?

David Ayer: Sly (Stallone) gave me an amazing starting point and was incredibly collaborative. He managed to find a cinematic arc within Chuck Dixon’s book. It was a pleasure to collaborate with such a lauded writer.

IGN: How faithful is the script to Chuck Dixon's source material Levon's Trade?

David Ayer: The character Levon is ripped directly from the novel. The circumstances are similar but we wanted to have some fun with Jenny’s character.

IGN: You've worked with Michael Peña a few times now. Would you say that he’s your lucky charm?

David Ayer: He’s definitely my lucky charm, he brings a truth to every role he plays, in this case the family that Levon is a part of. Every time I work with Michael I'm surprised by his depth and range.

In addition to Jason Statham and Michael Peña, the cast of A Working Man includes David Harbour, Jason Flemyng, Merab Ninidze, Maximilian Osinski, Cokey Falkow, Noemi Gonzalez, Arianna Rivas, Emmett J. Scanlan, and Eve Mauro.

For more from IGN Fan Fest 2025, enjoy our deep dive on Monster Hunter Wilds, our big scoop on Mike Flanagan’s Dark Tower adaptation, and discover everything announced at the ID@Xbox Showcase.