Statham was in talks to star opposite Hart but abruptly backed out a week ago.
The action star was insisting on making an R-rated film, but Sony execs didn't budge in their belief in making a broader, four-quadrant movie.
With his deal still not signed, Statham exited, leaving Sony, now facing a production that was only six weeks from shooting, in the lurch.
Patrick Hughes, who directed the 2017 Ryan Reynolds-Samuel L. Jackson starrer The Hitman’s Bodyguard, is on board to helm.
Robbie Fox wrote the script from a story by Fox and Jason Blumenthal.
Harrelson, who is repped by CAA, was last in theaters with the Zombieland sequel Double Tap and the World War II movie Midway.
He is set for Sony's Venom sequel and the Ruben Ostlund-directed Triangle of Sadness. »