New Writer for New Jack Ryan Film

The Jack Ryan franchise, based on the novels by Tom Clancy, is set to be reboot yet again, this time with Chris Pine as the hero. The character has previously been played by, in chronological order, Alec Baldwin (The Hunt for Red October), Harrison Ford (Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger), and Ben Affleck (The Sum of All Fears).

The Star Trek star, who can also be seen alongside Denzel Washington in the upcoming Tony Scott film Unstoppable, has been attached to the Jack Ryan character for over a year now, JoBlo reports. The hiring of a new writer for the project seems to be a pretty good sign that it'll be moving forward.

Anthony Peckham will take a crack at a new Jack Ryan script, which is said to deal with the early stages of Ryan's CIA career, tracking Russian terrorists. This might mean it'll be The Cardinal of the Kremlin, but no confirmation on that yet.

Peckham wrote last year's Invictus, and also had a hand in Sherlock Holmes (he's one of 5 credited writers on that screenplay).

I actually think it's kind of a stretch to call this a "reboot", other than the fact that the term "reboot" is way over-used these days for pretty much everything. Characters are re-cast all the time, and having a new actor play Jack Ryan—particularly in a prequel—isn't a huge deal. Personally I'm looking forward to seeing how Pine handles the role.

Comments

[Joel Murphy]

I think the whole reboot thing comes down to continuity. If they are doing a Jack Ryan film that respects the continuity that was established in the previous films, then it's a prequel. But if you set this film in modern times (meaning that it takes place years after those other films supposedly happened) and tweak other details established in those films, then it becomes a reboot.

You wouldn't say Star Wars Episodes I - III are a reboot of the original trilogy, but you would say the Daniel Craig Bond movies are a reboot of that franchise.