The Transporter is one of Jason Statham’s most iconic film franchises, which is why it was so surprising when the actor didn’t return for the fourth movie in the series, The Transporter Refueled. The Hollywood star had made a name for himself across several different action franchises, and he’d seemingly found his niche with The Transporter. Most of his other projects were very similar, and the franchise had mostly been a success for him, but there were certain external factors that prevented him from returning.

The Transporter series follows an ex-soldier who’s taken up a cloak-and-dagger career of privately transporting goods for important clients - but things quickly turn dangerous when he’s tasked with transporting a woman whose life is in immediate danger. It was the intense storytelling and high-stakes set pieces that made the first Transporter movie such a success, and while the sequels were mostly hit-or-miss,...