In July 2011, Menon began pre-production work on the first film of an action-adventure series of films titled ''Yohan'' starring [[Vijay (actor)|Vijay]] in the title role with the first film titled ''[[:ta::யோஹன்: அத்தியாயம் ஒன்று|Yohan: Adhyayam Ondru]]''. He revealed that the film would narrate the tale of an agent going against an arms dealer, who has caused mass destruction around the world, and compared the theme of the film to the [[List of James Bond films|''Bond'' series]]. The character of Yohan would play an American citizen, and an English actress would be cast in the lead female role.<ref name="auto3"/>
However, after a year of pre-production, the director shelved the film citing differences of opinion about the project.<ref>{{cite news |first=V |last=Lakshmi |agency=TNN |url=httphttps://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-08-24entertainment/regional/tamil/news-interviews/33343315_1_gauthamYohan-menonshelved-yohannew-thuppakkiscript-for-Vijay/articleshow/15617580.cms |title=Yohan shelved; new script for Vijay? |date=2012-08-24 |access-date=2013-08-20 |archive-date=18 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130518155013/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-08-24/news-interviews/33343315_1_gautham-menon-yohan-thuppakki |work=[[The Times of India]] |url-status=deadlive }}</ref> Menon later revealed that Vijay did not want to do the film citing that it felt "too much like an English film".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/tamil/gautham-menon-reveals-why-suriya-backed-out-of-dhruva-natchathiram-and-vijay-rejected-yohan-9028061/|title=Gautham Menon reveals why Suriya backed out of Dhruva Natchathiram and Vijay rejected Yohan|date=November 15, 2023|access-date=November 26, 2023|archive-date=November 26, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231126212622/https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/tamil/gautham-menon-reveals-why-suriya-backed-out-of-dhruva-natchathiram-and-vijay-rejected-yohan-9028061/|url-status=live}}</ref>
