Jose Padilha has been selected to take over Universal's spy series that is not, I repeat not, another Jason Bourne movie. OK, it's based on a Robert Ludlum novel, and it's about a guy running through Europe, trying to escape assassins. So The Sigma Protocol might be a placeholder before the studio can conjure a fourth Bourne film, but based on the director they've chosen, they've got big plans for it anyway.
Padilha's previous film Elite Squad was barely seen in the United States, but the action film won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, and was a modest hit in its native Brazil. His selection as a director invites one more comparison to the Bourne films: Both he and Paul Greengrass are foreign action directors with good reputations who have the potential to both boost their careers and produce a hit by making these movies good. Greengrass pulled it off; will Padilha?
According to THR the film will shoot over the summer in Europe, though no actors have yet been cast. In this corner, at least, we'll be rooting for Padilha.
