Kenneth Branagh to direct and star in Tom Clancy’s ‘Jack Ryan’
Kenneth Branagh. – AFP picLOS ANGELES, July 23 — At a Television Critics Association press event in Los Angeles, Kenneth Branagh announced he will direct and star in “Jack Ryan”, a new thriller based on the character from Tom Clancy novels.
Branagh was promoting the third season of “Wallander”, the British television series base on the Swedish noir novels by Henning Mankell.
Chris Pine (“Star Trek”) takes on the role of Jack Ryan in this origin story, in which author Tom Clancy is involved. Pine stars as an ex-Marine who, working as a financial consultant for a Russian billionaire, is framed in a plot and goes on the run.
Previously Jack Ryan has been portrayed by Alec Baldwin in “The Hunt For Red October” in 1990, by Harrison Ford in “Clear and Present Danger” and “Patriot Games”, and in 2002’s “The Sum of All Fears” by Ben Affleck.
Branagh will play a Russian villain whose plot involves devaluing the American dollar. The script will blend the various players’ desires for a romantic film, an espionage tale and a thriller.
Pine was last seen in “This Means War”, a romantic action film with Tom Hardy and Reese Witherspoon, and will star in the “Star Trek” sequel by J.J. Abrams.
Branagh, who played Laurence Olivier in “My Week with Marilyn”, also mentioned that he would like to direct “Shakespeare” in IMAX 3D, so perhaps that’s a forecast of his next project. — AFP/Relaxnews
