Make no mistake: it's still happening. Agent 47 is stealthily sneaking towards a second screen outing at 20th Century Fox. Deadline have revealed that Spanish director Daniel Benmayor is in talks to direct Hitman 2, but their big question is, will Timothy Olyphant return?
2007's original Hitman was directed by Xavier Gans for a paltry $30m or so (IMDb puts it as low as $24m), and managed to rake in about $100m at the box office, despite being pants. Financially then, a follow-up is a no-brainer for the studio, and a useful step across to Hollywood for Benmayor's English-language debut (following many commercials, last year's Spanish slasher quickie Paintball and this year's historical Bruc).
Last we heard, Kyle Ward was writing Hitman 2 (clearly a gamer, he's also the pen behind the Bruce Willis / Jamie Foxx Kane & Lynch), which apparently shares plot details with the as-yet unreleased fifth game in the Eidos series. A beaten 47 "must build himself back psychologically and physically to reclaim his mantle as world’s most feared assassin".
Olyphant has sounded less than enthusiastic about Hitman since its release, but Fox do have an option to make him come back if they choose to. Certainly, none of the blame for part one rests with its star, and he'd be a clear asset to the production if Fox choose to exercise their contractual rights. If Olyphant has the choice though, we're guessing he'll keep his head down. He's got I Am Number Four and the great Elmore Leonard series Justified to occupy him at the moment. Any thoughts on his possible replacement? Post them below.