He’s currently sailing Biblical epic Noah through post-production, but that doesn’t mean Darren Aronofsky has stopped looking for likely future projects. There are several scripts sitting in his development bag, including one about George Washington. Now Deadline has heard he’s in early talks to develop and direct Red Sparrow for 20th Century Fox.
The studio bought Jason Matthews’ novel back in April, snatching the rights after a bidding fight against several other studios. Matthews’ book finds intelligence officer Dominika Egorova fighting to survive in the tough bureaucracy of present-day Russia’s secret services.
She’s drafted against her will to become a “Sparrow”, a seductress who must ferret information out of US counterparts using any methods necessary. Her first assignment is fresh-faced CIA agent Nathaniel Nash, and the two young intelligence operatives find themselves fighting attraction as well as each other. Things get even more complicated when Dominika is recruited by the CIA to find a high-level traitor in Washington before returning home to work for Vladimir Putin’s own security service.
Steven Zaillian is among the producers already aboard, but there’s no indication as to whether he’ll contribute to the script or who Aronofsky will assign - assuming he makes a deal to work on the movie. The basic plot certainly seems like something he can handle, however, and it would be another genre for the multi-talented director to tackle. As for Noah, it'll hit UK screens on March 28 next year.