Taken director Pierre Morel is showing no signs of moving away from action, at least for his big screen career. He’s just made a deal to direct The Killer for Studiocanal, based on Tom Wood’s book series{
Wood’s tomes, which are collectively known as the Victor The Assassin series, were first published in the US and the UK in 2011 with the debut of The Killer, though the title was changed to The Hunter here in Blighty.
The film will follow a mysterious assassin with no last name who, in classicmovie hit man style, is double-crossed and must go on the run to find the truth about those trying to take him down. It does sound awfully familiar, though Wood’s books have been praised for finding new, creative ways to explore the story, something that will hopefully carry over to the adaptation. And while Morel hasn’t exactly proven a master of wrangling screenplays, he certainly knows his way around a set piece.
It marks a reunion for the director and Andrew Rona and Alex Heineman, the producers he’s just worked with on The Gunman, which stars Sean Penn, Idris Elba and Javier Bardem. That latest effort will shoot onto UK screens on February 20 next year.