John Krasinski’s Amazon ‘Jack Ryan’ Series Lands ‘Passengers’ Director
Every director has both a Passengers and an Imitation Game in them somewhere, and let’s hope John Krasinski’s Amazon take on Jack Ryan skews more toward the latter. Passengers director Morten Tyldum will helm the first episode of the new series, which gets production underway in the coming months.
Per Deadline, the Oscar-nominated (but not for Passengers) Tyldum will direct the premiere installment of the new Tom Clancy adaptation, with The Americans vet Dan Sackheim producing and directing episodes thereafter. In addition to Krasinski in the title role, the series features Abbie Cornish as Cathy Mueller, a doctor specializing in infectious diseases, along with The Wire vet Wendell Pierce as Ryan’s boss James Greer, a highly successful case officer working in the CIA Directorate of Operations.
Spotlighting a contemporary (and perhaps more comedic) take on Ryan in his prime as a CIA analyst/operative, So reads the official synopsis:
The drama follows Ryan as he uncovers a pattern in terrorist communication that launches him into the center of a dangerous gambit with a new breed of terrorism that threatens destruction on a global scale. Carlton Cuse (Bates Motel, The Strain) and Graham Roland (Almost Human) penned the script and developed the project together.
The drama is a co-production between Paramount Television and Skydance Television. Platinum Dunes’ Michael Bay, Brad Fuller and Andrew Form exec produce alongside Skydance’s David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Marcy Ross with Mace Neufeld and Lindsey Springer also on board.
Over the years, Ryan has been portrayed by Alec Baldwin in 1990's The Hunt for Red October, Harrison Ford in 1992's Patriot Games and 1994's Clear and Present Danger, Ben Affleck in 2002's The Sum of All Fears, and most recently by Star Trek star Chris Pine for Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit.
We’ll see what other notable names join the new Jack Ryan, but does a feature director like Tyldum give the series a leg up?