Previously brought to life as a TV series starring a pre-Bond Roger Moore and 1997 film lead by Val Kilmer, Leslie Charteris' The Saint has been in development as a new big screen version for a while now, with Chris Pine starring and Dexter Fletcher directing. But, as so many things are wont to to in Hollywood, the film has moved on since then. Bridgerton's Regé-Jean Page, who made the successful leap to movies with The Gray Man and particularly Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, is on board to play main character Simon Templar and today Deadline brings word that Doug Liman is attached to direct the film for Paramount.
Charteris' character is a Robin Hood-style thief and criminal for hire takes down dodgy politicians and other nefarious wrongdoers. For the new film, the plan is to overhaul the concept and apply a fresh spin, but what that entails is being kept quiet for now.
Playwright, actor and current artistic director of The Young Vic Kwame Kwei-Armah wrote the first draft(s) of the script, with Rory Haines and Sohrab Noshirvani now taking over. The film was previously in development with Chris Pine starring and Dexter Fletcher directing.
Liman, of course, has plenty of action experience thanks to his directed the likes of Edge Of Tomorrow and several Bourne movies. But let's wait and see whether the film makes it through development this time.