He's defended The White House in Olympus Has Fallen, London in, erm, London Has Fallen and his own reputation in Angel Has Fallen. Now, word has come in that Gerard Butler's brawny secret service agent Mike Banning will return for a fourth round of explosive action in Night Has Fallen.
Clearly, inspiration was running dry as far as titles were concerned. (Sunset Has Fallen may well be on the cards in the not-too-distant future.) Nevertheless, Deadline reports that we're getting another dose of Butler-centric action in which life, liberty and the American way are reinforced by means of a solid punch in the face. Or a bazooka. Nevertheless, it's a formula that works: collectively, the films have grossed more than $500 million so far.
Helmer Ric Roman Waugh will return from Angel Has Fallen to direct, while screenwriter Robert Mark Kamen, responsible for 1980s classic The Karate Kid and the Angel Has Fallen script, will also be back on board. The most recent film generated a more positive response than its relatively jingoistic predecessors, refreshingly willing to make fun of itself while making a glorious pairing out of Butler and his grizzled on-screen dad, Nick Nolte.
Production company Millennium Media are backing the movie, which is set to shoot at the company's Bulgaria studios. There's no word yet of a production start date or eventual release date, but stay tuned to the blog and Twitter @Cineworld for more details.