20th Century Fox is a studio that's looking to build itself back up after a good period of flops. Sometimes that means picking the right projects, and sometimes it means picking the right talent. Michael B. Jordan is just the type of rising actor that can help a studio get back on its feet, and not only will he be helping them out by starring as Johnny Storm in their new Fantastic Four reboot, he'll also be lending a hand with a new pitch they've acquired.
Variety has announced that a CIA thriller titled Men Who Kill has been pitched to and acquired by 20th Century Fox, with Ratchet and Clank's TJ Fixman set as a writer and Greg Berlanti (Wrath of the Titans, Green Lantern) hired as a producer. As far as the story is concerned, the only detail available to the public is that it's a "CIA thriller". For now, speculators can run wild with just what type of plot this film will have, but it's a good bet that it will be more heavy on action than scares.
Jordan is a good actor to start building projects around, as he's green enough not to pass up too many projects, but also enough of a draw that he can bring a fair amount of following to whatever movie he joins. For example, in addition to this Men Who Kill Jordan is also reported to be developing his own Rocky spin-off, in which he'll play the grandson of boxer Apollo Creed.
Before getting to excited for Men Who Kill, let's just hope that the studio saw and recognized the lukewarm performance of Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit. Itself a "CIA thriller" of sorts, the reboot employed the talents of a rising young actor (Chris Pine) in order to revive a franchise that was a huge draw to older, more serious adult film fans. While it managed to kind of work out (it made it past the "budget and a half" metric of success), it can't really be called a complete victory. What Fox is going to want to do is make sure that the film is serious enough not to turn away the same demographic Paramount banked on with Jack Ryan, but also make it thrilling enough to draw in a younger, more adrenaline fueled crowd.
While Men Who Kill is still a while off from now, let's revisit the trailer to Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit and try to imagine a more blockbuster-friendly version of the more cerebral franchise.
