The last time Brad Pitt played an assassin, it was opposite Angelina Jolie for Mr & Mrs Smith. Now, though, he’s looking to slip on the killing togs again, albeit without his significant other, for The Gray Man.
In possibly the most perfect pairing of director name and project ever, Two Lovers’ James Gray is on board to wield the megaphone for the film, which has been adapted from Mark Greaney’s thriller novel.
Adam Cozad wrote the screenplay, which was good enough to land on the Blacklist and score him several other big gigs, including re-writing Joseph Kosinski’s Archangel. And it was his work on Jack Ryan reboot Moscow that got him the Gray assignment in the first place.
Gray Man* will see Pitt as the world’s greatest assassin, a man who used to work for the CIA, but whose name crops up on the “burned” list after his most recent job goes wrong. The change in status means he suddenly has to go on the run from unknown forces hunting him. Without the resources of his former employer, he has to get pretty creative to save himself. And to give him an extra headache, he must also save two daughters who have no idea he’s their dad.
Pitt’s in talks right now, but it looks like he wants the role, and would likely move on to it once he’s finished fighting the zombie invasion in World War Z.
*Fans of Robert Jordan's Wheel Of Time series: we know, but it's not the same sort of Gray Man. If someone makes a film called Myrddraal, however, we'll know they're messing with us.