As one of a trio of action-packed gangster films set in London at the turn of the century, Layer Cake was a box-office hit in 2004.

Following hot on the heels of Guy Ritchie’s movies Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, Matthew Vaughn’s film helped revitalise the British crime genre with a stylish mixture of gritty realism and dark comedy.

Layer Cake also catapulted its director and leading actor to stardom – Vaughn won an Empire Award while Daniel Craig landed the role of James Bond.

And now hard man actor Jason Statham is producing and starring in a sequel – and has teamed up with old pals Mr Ritchie and fellow tough nut Vinnie Jones, who appeared alongside him in both Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch.

Titled Viva La Madness, the British actor plays drug kingpin XXXX – Mr Craig’s character in the original.

He certainly looked every inch the tough guy as he began filming the action thriller last week in London’s Russell Square.

Mr Statham, 58, who has two children with lingerie model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, 38, has also cast Nigerian actor Babs Olusanmokun and American actress Camila Mendes as a gangster’s moll. 

She is tipped to become a huge star this summer with the release of a live-action remake of the He-Man cartoons – Masters Of The Universe.

Viva La Madness was written by JJ Connolly, who wrote the original Layer Cake novel, and centres on a cocaine dealer whose plans for retirement go awry when he is ordered by his boss to do one final job.

Mr Statham has said of the project: ‘It has its own element of black comedy but very slick, very sophisticated.’