Ric Roman Waugh says “Shelter” delivers a new Jason Statham, built for the big screen.

Ric Roman Waugh is not easing into 2026, releasing two films in a single month. The filmmaker behind “Greenland,” “Angel Has Fallen,” and “Kandahar” is rolling into theaters with “Shelter,” a survival thriller he says landed in his lap in the best way. Jason Statham personally brought him the project, and Waugh said it was the kind of script that speaks fast and hits hard. “When I read it, it just hit me in the gut,” he told Nerdtropolis, adding that once he connected with the story, it felt simple: “I got to make this movie with him.”

“Shelter” opens in theaters this Friday, and it puts Statham in a setting that strips away comfort and forces the truth to the surface. On a remote coastal island, a reclusive man rescues a young girl from a deadly storm, drawing them both into danger. Forced out of isolation, he must confront his turbulent past while protecting her, pushing them into a tense journey of survival and redemption.

A story built on protection, not posturing

Waugh said the emotional center was the reason he signed on. He wanted the movie to land as more than a tough-guy showcase, even with Statham at the wheel. He described Statham as the kind of star who shows up ready every day, saying, “He comes to set prepared,” but what impressed him most was the actor’s range and trust. Waugh said he loved Statham’s “willingness and trust that we got to take him into a lot of new territory,” especially in scenes where the character’s pain and past start leaking through the silence.

That protective bond also shaped how Waugh talked about the film’s influences. He pointed to movies that use intensity as a gateway to tenderness, name-checking “Man on Fire” and “The Professional” as touchstones where the relationship becomes the heartbeat, not the subplot. In “Shelter,” that dynamic sits front and center, because the rescue is only the beginning. The real test is what happens after.

Real action, real impact, and a camera that stays close

Waugh has never hidden what he wants from action: weight, texture, and consequences. He said “Shelter” leaned hard into practicality, stressing that the set pieces were designed to feel lived-in rather than manufactured. “The cool thing about ‘Shelter’ is we do it all real,” he said, explaining that the film’s physicality comes from planning and execution, not shortcuts.

That philosophy connects to his bigger mission for theatrical movies. Waugh talked about the theater experience as if it were a full-body event, comparing it to live music and describing that sensation of sound and emotion landing at once. He said films should still “hit you in the chest,” and he believes “Shelter” was built to do exactly that on the big screen.

The Tony Scott influence still drives him

Waugh’s passion for kinetic filmmaking goes back to his early days around Tony Scott. When asked about the “pinch me” moments that still stick, Waugh lit up talking about that era, recalling the energy and discipline of working around Scott on projects like “Days of Thunder” and “True Romance.” He framed Scott as the kind of filmmaker who lived for the craft, every day, and Waugh said that standard still pushes him now.

More Statham and Waugh? The door is wide open

If “Shelter” plays like the start of a longer collaboration, Waugh would not argue. He sounded more than ready to run it back, saying he could make “five, six, seven” movies with Statham if the timing and stories line up. The talks have already begun, too. “So, yeah, we are talking about some things,” Waugh said, and he made it clear he wants audiences to see them team up again: “Hopefully you will see us together again.”

For now, “Shelter” is the test case, and Waugh is selling it on two promises: the action is real, and the emotions are, too. It is Jason Statham in survival mode, but with the armor cracked just enough for the audience to see what is underneath.

“Shelter” also stars Bodhi Rae Breathnach, Naomi Ackie, and Academy Award nominee Bill Nighy.

It opens in theaters on January 30.

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