With their revamped monsters universe officially underway now that production has started onThe Mummy, Universal is doubling down on shared universes with plans to build a series of interconnected films based on the works of best-selling authorRobert Ludlum, the very same behind the studio’s hitJason Bournefranchise.THRreports thatThe Amazing Spider-ManandWhite House DownscribeJames Vanderbiltwill craft the series of shared universe films alongside his partners at Mythology Entertainment, Brad FischerandWilliam Sherak, as well asBen SmithandJeffrey Weinerof Captivate Entertainment.
Universal will kick off their new universe with theDwayne Johnson-ledThe Janson Directive, which has beenin the works at the studio since 2011. Johnson has been attached to the project since 2014, and while it was always meant to be a name-brand franchise for Johnson, it’s now going to kick off even more.
Vanderbilt previously wrote one of Johnson’s first films, the wonderful 2003 actioner The Rundown, and will adaptThe Janson Directivefrom a story co-authored byAkiva Goldsman(who is also hard at work on Paramount’sTransformersuniverse). Universal has been working on bringing a number of Ludlum’s spy thrillers to the screen, includingThe Parsifal Mosaic,The Sigma ProtocolandCovert One, and is now aiming to bring the titles together under one larger interconnected banner. The report states that Vanderbilt will co-author two more unnamed story treatments to shape the Ludlum-verse, which will then be adapted by as-yet unhired screenwriters.
The Janson Directivewill star Johnson as a former operative who is now a world-famous security consultant. When he takes on a job to rescue a kidnapped Nobel laureate, his life is thrown upside down after the rescue mission goes horribly wrong and he’s charged with the victim’s death. No word on how Johnson’s Janson (that’s not getting old soon) will factor into the larger Ludlum-verse, but presumably he’ll be the Iron Man of the bunch. Unless they ultimately cross this over withBourne, in which case I guess he’s the Cap. In either case,The Bourne Legacyproved that you can’t just copy/paste the appeal of Ludlum’s spy thrillers, so I’ll be interested to see how these turn out.
Johnson, who I’m quite convinced is either a sorcerer or a Time Lord, has a hell of a slate lined up. His HBO seriesBallersreturns for Season 2 this summer, his two-hander withKevin Hart, the action comedyCentral Intelligence, arrives in theaters arrives in theaters next month, he recently filmedBaywatchwithZac EfronandAlexandra Daddario, and he shows no signs of slowing down. After that he’s already lined upFast 8, theJumanjiremake, aRampageadaptation withSan AndreasdirectorBrad Peyton,San Andreas 2, a ‘Lethal Weaponinspired’ action comedy fromWill Gluck, and possiblyDoc SavagewithShane Black. That’s it for now, but hey, it’s only Wednesday.
