TheTom Clancycharacter John Clark, who’s like Jack Ryan except not a boring desk jockey, is finally getting his own franchise.Varietyreports that Paramount has tappedMichael B. Jordanto play the hero in a new series. The studio is developing two movies for the character, with an origin story planned for an adaptation ofWithout Remorsefollowed up by a sequel based onRainbow Six.
Before you get too excited, Variety also notes “Akiva Goldsman, who’s heading the new “Transformers” universe, will also be spearheading this endeavor as the film’s main producer with Jordan,Josh Appelbaum, andCorin Nemecalso producing.” Despite Goldsman’s atrocious track record (I don’t know how you watchWinter’s Taleand let him anywhere near a film again), Paramount seems to like the guy as they’ve involved him withTransformersandStar Trek, the studio’s marquee franchises.
Per Variety, “Clark, a.k.a. John Terrence Kelly, is an ex-Navy Seal-turned-operations officer for the CIA and would go on to appear in 17 novels starting with 1988’s’The Cardinal of the Kremlin.’ Though mainly seen as a secondary character who helps CIA analysis Jack Ryan with more of the physical elements of any mission, Clark finally stepped into the spotlight with ‘Without Remorse,’ which tells his backstory on how he came to work for the CIA.”
Paramount reportedly landed Jordan by promising him his own film franchise rather than just an origin story, so it will be interesting to see if the studio forges ahead withRainbow Sixregardless of howWithout Remorseperforms.
If you remove Goldsman from the equation, you have an exciting prospect for a franchise. Jordan is a talented, charismatic star, and Clark is a good, solid character that hasn’t been done to death like Jack Ryan. Hopefully the Goldsman factor doesn’t drag this one down and Jordan will have another successful franchise to his name.
