The first film Rise of the Footsoldier released on 7 September 2007 was the only one of the series to be released in the Cinema and grossed £220,868, it was the third production from BAFTA Award-nominated director Julian Gilbey, it is based on the autobiography of Leach who had risen from a football hooligan to becoming a bouncer, hired muscle and later part of the Essex firm of the 1990s and his involvement with Pat Tate and Tony Tucker. The sequel Rise of the Footsoldier, Part II: Reign of the General released in 2015 followed Leach in the aftermath of murders, whilst Rise of the Footsoldier: The Pat Tate Story (2017), Rise of the Footsoldier: Marbella (2019) and the up-and-coming Rise of the Footsoldier Origins: The Tony Tucker Story (2021) are prequels to the original and do not feature Carlton Leach.