Shelter - the upcoming action movie starring Jason Statham, Naomi Ackie, and Bill Nighy - just dropped its first trailer, which you can view in the player above. Now the director is revealing new details about the film. I spoke exclusively with Ric Roman Waugh about how Shelter showcases “Jason Statham at his best” and why the movie will make people want to put their “ass in a theater” when it releases early next year.

“(Statham’s character is) this mysterious guy that’s been living in this abandoned lighthouse for over 10 years alone, isolated on this island,” Waugh says. “A young girl and her uncle keep bringing him supplies. He won't give them the time of day until one day he has to save her life, and now is stuck with her. He gets exposed to the world, and you realize that he has this mysterious past that has haunted him and he's now a wanted man that's on the hunt. It becomes a great movie about our own morality today and about a guy that was wrongfully accused and tried to do the right things. What you get is this great big action ride with two lost souls that find each other and become family.”

Waugh says the key to Shelter’s story is the relationship between Statham’s character, Mason, and a girl named Jessie, played by Hamnet's Bodhi Rae Breathnach. “When we did the chemistry test, she was the first young girl that came in. Jason and I looked afterwards and we were like, what do we do now? Because we know that's her. The heart of it became about the way that you're looking for Natalie Portman in The Professional (or) Dakota Fanning in Man on Fire. Who's going to bring it?

“It's a movie that there were scenes directing it where it's a bit of a tear-jerker about two lost souls trying who find family and don't want to lose it; a man trying to do the right thing by this young girl and dealing with the dark cloud behind them.”

Rounding out the all-star cast are Bill Nighy (Pirates of the Caribbean), Naomi Ackie (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker), and Daniel Mays (Rogue One). But the heart of the movie lies with Statham.

“This is Jason Statham at his best,” Waugh says. "This is Jason Statham the action star, and this is the guy that will show you and prove again what an amazing actor he is. He gives a performance that just will blow your mind and will win your heart over. It's the full package. (He) knows the story inside out, (he’s) prepared and (is) both going to challenge the process in a way of being respectful and wanting to raise the bar. You couldn't ask for a better dance partner.”

Shelter hits theaters January 30, 2026.

Michael Peyton is the Senior Editorial Director of Events & Entertainment at IGN, leading entertainment content and coverage of tentpole events including IGN Live, San Diego Comic Con, gamescom, and IGN Fan Fest. He's spent 20 years working in the games and entertainment industry, and his adventures have taken him everywhere from the Oscars to Japan to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Follow him on Bluesky @MichaelPeyton