Last October Paramount Pictures was in the process of locking down Star Trek star Chris Pine to play Jack Ryan, the CIA analyst character created by bestselling author Tom Clancy. Shortly thereafter Pine was officially the fourth actor to play Ryan after Alec Baldwin (The Hunt for Red October), Harrison Ford (Clear and Present Danger and Patriot Games), and Ben Affleck (The Sum of All Fears).
We haven’t heard much since, but a source for Pajiba has provided further details on Pine’s mission. Screenwriter Adam Cozad has stepped in to rewrite an original draft by Hossein Amini for a story that won’t be based on a Clancy novel.
The film, operating under the working title Moscow, will center on Ryan as a financial analyst to a billionaire employer in Moscow. It’s here he is framed to take the fall for a terrorist plot designed to collapse the U.S. economy. It essentially becomes a chase movie where Ryan must clear his name, prevent the terrorist attack, and save his captured wife before time runs out.
Dustin Rowles at Pajiba points out this sounds similar to Cozad’s geopolitical drama Dubai, his first script deal that sold to Lorenzo Di Bonaventura in 2007 with Star Trek villain Eric Bana attached as a producer. Other than the relocation, the two stories of a man trying to stop the collapse of the economy and prove his innocence sound extremely close.
While it’s unfortunate they aren’t returning to Clancy’s extensive library, it seems like Paramount is assembling a timely adventure for their young, rebooted franchise. Both the studio and Pine stand to reap the benefits if this becomes their second hit collaboration, so I’m curious to see who they’re lining up to direct. Sam Raimi was interested in the material before, but passed to focus on a now defunct Spider-Man 4. Maybe they can lure him back.
source: newsinfilm.com
Simon Pegg has revealed Star Trek 2 could begin shooting as soon as this Christmas.
