Action star Jason Statham is looking to join the new thriller Echelon, although a deal is not in place yet. Eric Bana had previously been attached to star.

Echelon is based on Andy McNab's novel Firewall, the third in a series of 13 books which follows ex-SAS agent Nick Stone, who Jason Statham will play if he signed on. The story centers on Stone, who becomes caught in the middle of Russian and American covert forces trying to acquire the powerful Echelon computer system.

Longtime stunt coordinator Simon Crane is making his directorial debut on Echelon. Simon Crane previously handled the stunt work on such action projects as Salt, The Tourist, and the upcoming Men in Black III.

Ashok Amritraj is producing through Hyde Park Entertainment. Echelon is the first project of a $250 million deal the company signed with Imagenation Abu Dhabi to produce up to 20 movies over the next seven years. Bonnie Timmermann and Steve Chasman are also producing.