Gerard Butler suits up for Angel Has Fallen

Gerard Butler is reprising his role as a top Secret Service agent for another sequel to Olympus Has Fallen.

The Scottish star first suited up for the part in the 2013 action thriller, and returned earlier this year (16) for London Has Fallen.

Now Butler is turning the franchise into a trilogy with Angel Has Fallen, in which he will return as Secret Service official Mike Banning.

Unlike the first two instalments of the film series, in which Banning is tasked with keeping the U.S. president safe, this time he will become the target, according to Deadline.com. His presence on the leader's security detail will put the Commander-in-Chief at risk, especially while travelling on the Air Force One plane, which is given the code name Angel.

Angel Has Fallen will reunite Butler with bosses at Millennium Films, who produced the previous two movies.

The actor will also serve as a producer on the project, which will be written by franchise creators Creighton Rothenberger and Katrin Benedikt.

A director has yet to be appointed to the job, but Millennium officials are aiming to begin shooting in the first half of 2017.

The franchise has helped to secure 300 star Butler's reputation as a bankable Hollywood action man - Antoine Fuqua's Olympus Has Fallen, which co-starred Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman, Angela Bassett, and Ashley Judd, grossed $161 million (£132 million) worldwide.

London Has Fallen, directed by Babak Najafi, was an even bigger hit, taking in $205 million (£168 million) at the global box office.