Saturday
20Dec2008
Who Should Save the World in the Jack Ryan Prequel?
Saturday, December 20, 2008 at 2:30AM
With the world of movie espionage being completely
revolutionized by Jason Bourne, Jack Ryan's suit-and-tie approach to things just
wouldn't work today. Sure, a good film is still a good film, but if Paramount
and Tom Clancy
are serious about giving new life to the franchise, they can't make a movie that
flows like Patriot Games now. Something has to change.
The prequel idea means no more Harrison Ford, and that's a great move, too. How much further could a CIA man in his 60s realistically take you? Two movies? You'd have to reinvent the character sometime. Interestingly, because the character has to get younger, I think a glance at the cast for Killshot reveals a pretty good Ryan.
If I could throw a name out there, what about Tom Jane? He's not a 25-year-old, I realize, but it's easier for him to play a mid-30s Ryan and move the character along to the point where you might bring in another one of the Clancy books as source material. If you hire a kid, that might be more challenging.
There are tons of good names out there for Ryan; that one just stood out as I glanced at Killshot. I think Aaron Eckhart is due for a franchise, and that's a viable option, and Ryan Reynolds, too, although he's probably going to ride out his luck with Marvel for the time being. Mark Wahlberg could do it, as could Josh Brolin. Do any other choices stand out to you?
Colin Boyd | Permalink | in Jack Ryan, Prequels | Print Article | Email Article | 6 Comments | Share Article
Reader Comments (6)
You mean you're NOT rooting for the return of Ben Affleck in the part? (The Sum of All Fears.)
Aaron Eckhart and Josh Brolin sound like two very intriguing names to me.
I think it would almost be better just to make a John Clark movie and either do the book "Without Remorse" or "Rainbow Six"
James Franco, Ed Norton, Ryan Gosling, Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio, amd if you wanted to go really young, Shia LaBeouf and Emile Hirsch would be pretty good as well.
Jared Padalecki. He is the new hot star. Tall, has sex appeal, handsome, and the most important thing is he is no slouch in acting department.
ETA:
Mark Wahlberg is so passe, he is Matt Damon replacement if Matt is not available. Matt Damon is too recognizable as Jason Bourne, it would take away Tom Clancy as character, which is why Jared Padalecki is the best choice. In the beginning of his career, he was Matt Damon lookalike, and recently more of Josh Brolin's Mister Sterling lookalike.
The advantage that Jared has is: he is very tall, 6'4' tall, and for the new generation, tall is everything other than handsome. The only problem is: he will not be available for a year to come.