After re-visiting the world of Jason Bourne with, er, Jason Bourne, director Paul Greengrass is looking to bring the life of another heroic type, albeit one with less of a penchant for beating people up with magazines. He's making a deal to direct Ness for Paramount.
The story of Eliot Ness, one of America's most courageous and incorruptible lawmen was most famously brought to the screen in Brian De Palma's 1987 crime thriller The Untouchables which chronicled Ness' fight against crime lord Al Capone.
This new story finds L.A. Confidential's Brian Helgeland (who worked on a draft of The Bourne Supremacy) adapting Brian Michael Bendis and Marc Andreyko's Image Comics title Torso, which originally hit shelves in 1998. It follows the true tale of the Toro Murderer, a serial killer who struck between 1934 and 1938 and earned his gruesome moniker because he only left the torsos of his victims – meaning no dental records or fingerprints for identification. Ness, who had ended his time with the Untouchables, was the chief investigator on the case, though there's no clear indication on which part of Ness' life will actually be covered in the film. Paramount is hoping this could kick off a franchise, presumably focusing on Ness' career or other famous lawmakers of the time.
If all goes well, Greengrass should be shooting this autumn.