If you want to get ahead in Hollywood, just walk into a studio with the words “cinematic universe,” and the red carpet will be rolled out for you. In case Marvel, “Star Wars,” “Transformers,” Universal‘s monster movies, Hasbro‘s toy line, and DC Films (providing it doesn’t implode) weren’t enough, now the books of Robert Ludlum will forever spin out into multiple films and narratives until you just want to go to bed and hide under the covers.
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A couple of years back, Universal was eyeing Dwayne Johnson to star in an adaptation of Ludlum’s”The Janson Directive,” with the idea of turning it into the next “Jason Bourne.” And indeed, that’s what they’re going to do, and then some. James Vanderbilt has been tapped to write the script for ‘Janson’ (with a story co-credit to “Transformers” guru Akiva Goldsman), with Universal planning to develop many more Ludlum titles, with movies and plots intersecting at various points.
Vanderbilt and Johnson do have a history, having previously collaborated on “The Rundown.” Then again, the last time Vanderbilt got involved with a cinematic universe, it was in Sony‘s misguided and misjudged “The Amazing Spider-Man.” So, think on that, and let us know in the comments section if you’re even remotely interested in this. [THR]
well I always have my hopes up when it comes to Dwayne Johnson. In terms of action hero’s he’s a pretty good actor, he’s just never gotten that iconic role like Stallone, Schwarznegger, Willis etc have.
Someone at the Playlist should write an article about how Johnson’s career has been a lot less than what it should have been. He should have at least a handful of iconic action movies in his resume instead he has a bunch of ‘ok’ action movies and a lot of duds.
Would’ve been interesting to know how Ludlum felt about this, but it’s one of those questions that will never be answered.
Not to say it won’t work, but it’s hard not to be cynical about it when the main goal is merely to try and replicate the success they had with the Bourne films all while replacing the lead character (look how well that went over with The Bourne Legacy).