After reviving the Fast & Furious and G.I. Joe series, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson may be about to get a franchise of his very own, with news that the wrestler-turned-actor is in early talks to topline The Janson Directive, based on a novel by Bourne author Robert Ludlum, for Universal.
Published a year after Ludlum’s death in 2001, The Janson Directive focuses on Paul Janson, an ex-Navy SEAL and former covert ops specialist who has become a highly in-demand corporate security consultant. After taking on a high-stakes assignment and botching the job, Janson finds himself marked for assassination by a directive issued from the highest echelons of the U.S. government. Determined to survive and clear his name, Janson goes on the run, only to uncover a decades-old conspiracy.
No director or screenwriter are yet attached to the project, but if Johnson takes on the lead role, expect Universal to move quickly to put The Janson Directive together. With Fast & Furious 7 signaling a major turning point, if not the final ride, of the Fast & Furious franchise in the wake of Paul Walker’s death, the studio likely has a keen interest in recruiting Johnson for another lucrative multi-film venture.
Check out the official Amazon synopsis for The Janson Directive for more information on the thriller, and let us know, is Johnson a good choice to play a Bourne-esque spy?
When billionaire philanthropist Peter Novak is kidnapped by a terrorist known as The Caliph, it’s up to Paul Janson—a legend in the notorious U.S. covert agency Consular Operations—to save him. But Janson’s rescue operation goes horribly wrong…and soon Janson is marked for death, the target of a “beyond salvage” order issued from the highest level of the government. Now Janson is running for his life, pursued by Jessica Kincaid, a young agent of astonishing ability who can anticipate and counter his every move. To survive, Janson must outrace a conspiracy that has gone beyond the control of its originators. To win, he must counter it with a conspiracy of his own…
