Paramount Wants Kenneth Branagh for Jack Ryan's Return

Jack Bender walked from Paramount's umpteenth attempt at rebooting Jack Ryan (Formerly Moscow, now untitled) in as many years last week. "Scheduling conflicts," they say was the culprit. Everyone I've spoken to indicates otherwise, but it's pointless to get into that.

Prospects for Tom Clancy's CIA analyst-turned-action hero looked murky, at best. Though this latest update doesn't altogether get them out of the dangerous oceans of Development Hell, it throws in a life-preserver. Vulture says Paramount is in talks with Kenneth Branagh to take the directorial reign.

Thinking outside of the box mindset, good dealings with the studio (Thor, bitches!); a good choice all around. Paramount still wants to get this going once Chris Pine wraps Star Trek 2. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Optimistic getting Branagh and Pine remains a solid choice for Ryan. Still in the "I'll believe it when I see" phase after all the delays, truth be told.