It's been more than two years since Chris Pine came aboard to star as the Tom Clancy hero, Jack Ryan, in Paramount's planned relaunch of the franchise previously brought to the screen in The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, and most recently in 2002's The Sum of All Fears. Despite the studio's clear aim to make this a priority as a potential summer tentpole, they've run into a multitude of script problems that have gummed up the works. Last year they brought in heavyweight scribe Steve Zaillian(Moneyball) to take over the script, followed by David Koepp, and still the untitled flick doesn't appear to be any closer.
Now comes word of another road block as director Jack Bender(Lost) has stepped down as his TV commitments have begun to pile up. He's currently exec-producer on the J.J. Abrams series, Alcatraz, and also has a pilot for SyFy he'll be directing. The search is on for someone to replace him, but this dampens Paramount's plans to start production in the summer.
From what I can remember, the film would be the first not based on a Tom Clancy novel. At one time rumored to be titled Moscow, it would pick with a younger Jack Ryan while he's working on Wall Street, and possibly finds himself implicated in a terrorist plot involving a Russian billionaire.
My question is simple: Does anybody even want another Jack Ryan movie? The Sum of All Fears wasn't exactly a monster hit, and there hasn't been much outcry for another one. I feel like the Bourne franchise has taken over the market on government conspiracy thrillers. [Variety]
