As Universal tries to figure out who will play the lead in The Bourne Legacy for writer-director Tony Gilroy, the studio is turning to books in search of another spy franchise. The studio has its target set on author Daniel Silva, acquiring the screen rights to his series revolving around Gabriel Allon, a Mossad agent who is semi-retired. Allon’s greatest claim to espionage fame was killing six of the terrorists that murdered Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics. Now the agent makes his living restoring art.
Currently, there are ten Allon novels with an eleventh, Portrait of a Spy
Whether he’s taking down Palestinian terrorists or restoring art, a series of films about retired spy Gabriel Allon might be a hard sell for most moviegoers. But with the right director and star, it has the makings of a solid spy franchise. Universal has been chomping at the bit to get a film made and even had Pierre Morel (Taken, From Paris With Love) attached to direct an adaptation of The Messenger, but the film never happened.
