Action maestro Simon West is attempting to jump back into the Hollywood spotlight. Having just wrapped the Jason Statham starrer The Mechanic for release next year, West will tackle Medallion based on a script from David Guggenheim, according to LA Times. No other details have emerged as to who will star in the action-thriller, though both Nicholas Cage and Clive Owen are rumored to have been attached to the project at one point. Fellow action-director McG will produce.

Guggenheim’s script focuses on a father searching for his kidnapped daughter, who has been locked in the back of an unidentified taxi cab. The father has only a few hours to locate his daughter, and save the day. West is next set to direct Protection with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, after which he will turn his attention to Medallion. Guggenheim recently scripted Safe House, which landed the star power of Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds. Hit the jump for more.

West is perhaps best known for the Jerry Bruckheimer production Con Air, a wild and crazy, but ultimately entertaining ride if there ever was one. The actioner featured Nic Cage’s best Jesus impersonation, a hilarious turn from John Malkovich, and perhaps one of the most illogical endings of all-time, but it was fun, in a Bruckheimer-ish sort of way. How many other films have you seen featuring a fight over a stuffed bunny between two grown men aboard a prisoner transport plane carrying the likes of Steve Buscemi, Ving Rhames, and Dave Chappelle?

So I guess I’m hoping for a return to form for West, who also directed the disappointing adaptation of Lara Croft: Tomb Raider with Angelina Jolie. Since then, West has dabbled with TV movies, and big screen fare such as When a Stranger Calls, but has yet to truly make a mark in Hollywood the way, say, other music video-auteurs-turned-mainstream-directors like Michael Bay have.

With the triple combination of The Mechanic, Protection and Medallion, however, perhaps things are looking up for the director.