It’s been a while since we’ve written anything about Paramount’s long-gestating Jack Ryan movie, but here’s a quick primer for those who are just joining us. “LOST” director Jack Bender was once slated to direct the film (once called Moscow but still officially untitled) that is a reboot of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan character starring Chris Pine as the CIA agent. It’s one of those prequel/reboot combos, and Thor director Kenneth Branagh signed on back in March to direct after Bender bounced due to TV commitments. Now THR is reporting that the director will also star in the movie, acting opposite Pine as the villain.
This film will explore Ryan’s early adventures as he lives in Moscow and discovers a terrorist plot led by Branagh’s bad guy.
Branagh is in negotiations to play the movie’s villain, Viktor Stazov, a financial wiz who, with the help of the Russian government, masterminds a plot to devalue American currency and thus destroy the U.S. economy.
That’s a very timely plan for a villain considering the current state of the real life U.S. economy, and it actually somewhat mirrors Bane’s villainous streak in The Dark Knight Rises, so this won’t be the first film in recent memory to tackle these issues head-on.
Branagh is a great actor and an interesting director, and I’m looking forward to see how he handles the action in a movie like this compared to the more colorful action in a superhero movie like Thor. We’ll keep you posted with any more details about this untitled project as they roll in.
