Jason Statham’s 23-year-old action movie debut demonstrates the most unfulfilled potential of his career.

Jason Statham is one of the biggest action movie stars in modern Hollywood, yet the 56-year-old’s first foray into the genre 23 years ago actually reveals another surprising aspect of his career – one that inadvertently highlights a missed opportunity. Having featured in over 60 movies, Statham is a certified industry veteran. Having helmed many of the biggest action blockbusters of the past few decades, it’s hard to argue that his career hasn’t been a huge success. Nevertheless, as with any actor, Statham still has some untapped potential – typified by his first-ever action movie.

Before establishing himself as an action movie star, Jason Statham rose to prominence through his collaborations with British filmmaker Guy Ritchie. Early Ritchie and Statham projects include the low-budget crime thriller Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, and the more polished follow-up Snatch. While Statham’s action prowess has become his hallmark, early work like the two popular Ritchie movies proves that he’s much more than a one-trick pony. In fact, this quality continued to be demonstrated with Statham’s first-ever action movie, which surprisingly proved his aptitude for other genres.

Ghosts Of Mars Is Jason Statham’s First Proper Action Movie
It Set The Trend For His Career

Although projects like Lock, Stock and Snatch included action-adjacent elements – including critical, firearms-centric plots – both movies were closer to comedies than the traditional action roles Statham has become known for. This means that it wasn’t until several years into his career that Jason Statham appeared in his first true action movie – John Carpenter’s Ghosts of Mars. In the film, Statham plays the improbably-named Sergeant Jericho Butler, who forms part of a group of soldiers sent to uncover the truth behind a mining accident, fighting possessed miners along the way.

Despite boasting the combined talents of director Carpenter, Ice Cube, Natasha Henstridge, Pam Grier, and Statham himself, Ghosts of Mars was a commercial and critical disappointment. The movie made just $14 million against a $28 million budget and was panned by critics, scoring just 23% on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. While it has since been reassessed by some fans and has developed a surprising cult following, it’s still easy for many observers to dismiss the movie as an ignominious genre debut for Statham. Beyond this consensus, however, Ghosts of Mars also highlights a major missed opportunity for Statham.

Ghosts Of Mars Is An Action And A Horror Movie
It Contains Multiple Genres

Part of what makes Ghosts of Mars so difficult to appraise effectively is that it is not just a straightforward action blockbuster. While the movie plays on many of the characteristics associated with the genre, typified by Statham’s arrogant, all-action supporting protagonist, the movie also incorporates other cinematic traditions – notably, Westerns, sci-fi, and horror. While the movie’s use of Western and sci-fi tropes certainly makes it intriguing, it is the horror elements that make it a particularly notable project from Statham’s perspective.

The movie’s central premise of possessed miners on a remote extraterrestrial outpost echoes projects like Pitch Black and Event Horizon…

Alongside delivering many more action-heavy sequences, Ghosts of Mars borrows heavily from horror throughout its story. The movie’s central premise of possessed miners on a remote extraterrestrial outpost echoes projects like Pitch Black and Event Horizon – albeit in a much more over-the-top story. The formula of survivors banding together to face a terrifying outside threat can also be seen in later comparable works, such as Robert Rodriguez’s From Dusk Till Dawn. Yet while the movie’s horror credentials are beyond doubt, what’s surprising is that Jason Statham didn’t use this experience to make more horror movies later down the line.

Jason Statham Hasn’t Done A Horror Movie Since Ghosts Of Mars
Ghosts Of Mars Proved He Had Potential In The Genre

In what might be one of the biggest missed opportunities of his career to date, Jason Statham has not featured in another horror movie since Ghosts of Mars – instead choosing to focus his attention on action. Considering his record of success, leading popular franchises like The Transporter, The Expendables, and latterly Fast and Furious, there’s a sense that he has become something of a genre specialist. Even Statham’s non-action movies make up a comparatively small collection, with many of them borrowing elements from the genre. Yet, as Ghosts of Mars proves, it didn’t have to be this way.

The multitude of influences with Ghosts of Mars highlights that there’s no reason why Statham’s specific skillset should be confined exclusively to action movies. For example, the scene in which Butler ventures out by himself, discovering a gruesome collection of severed heads and observing sinister rituals of sacrifice and self-mutilation, represents one of the few occasions on screen when a Statham character seems genuinely disturbed. Moments like this prove that Statham could be effective as a horror movie lead, despite his action background.

Horror Would Still Be A Great Direction For Jason Statham

The fact that fans haven’t seen Statham in a horror-adjacent role since 2001 is disappointing. However, as his career continues to develop, there is still a chance that he could branch out into the genre. There’s a case to be made that creature features like The Meg and Meg 2: The Trench represent a move away from the more traditional action films that Statham is most closely associated with. While in no way horror movies, his success with The Meg franchise could indicate that Statham is increasingly willing to explore different genres.

A further point of consideration for Statham is that many of his contemporaries have experimented in the horror genre – with some success. His Fast X co-star Jason Momoa has punctuated his largely action-heavy career with horror projects like Debug and Wolves – showcasing his adaptability and arguably leading to mainstream success beyond action movies in hits like Dune. Likewise, Statham’s Expendables compatriot Arnold Schwarzenegger has also latterly experimented with horror in projects like End of Days and Maggie – not to mention the original Terminator.

…the fact that he has only one genre credit to his name and is a more versatile performer than his almost entirely action-centric career suggests means that more Jason Statham horror movies could be an intriguing possibility.

Given his continuing commitment to action movies, it’s unlikely that Jason Statham will suddenly perform a complete career change and dedicate himself to horror. However, the fact that he has only one genre credit to his name and is a more versatile performer than his almost entirely action-centric career suggests means that more Jason Statham horror movies could be an intriguing possibility. As he gets older, and arguably less believable as a pseudo-superpowered action man, it may be that revisiting his horror heritage becomes an interesting way for the star to expand and extend his career.