Matthew Vaughn To Direct Terrorism Thriller I AM PILGRIM

The Hollywood Reporter has word that Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass) has signed on to direct a terrorism thriller called I Am Pilgrim for MGM. The film is based on Terry Hayes' bestselling spy novel, and Hayes also wrote the screenplay (you may know him as the screenwriter of Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, From Hell, Payback, Vertical Limit, and Dead Calm). Here's the synopsis:

Based on 2014's mammoth best seller, the story follows “Pilgrim,” code name for a man who doesn’t exist. The adopted son of a wealthy American family, he once headed up a secret espionage unit for U.S. intelligence. Now in anonymous retirement, he is called upon to lend his expertise to an unusual investigation but ultimately becomes caught in a terrifying race against time to save America from a cunning terrorist. 

As with most espionage movies, the plot sounds like we've seen this kind of thing a bunch of times before, but it's all about the execution and Vaughn is a gifted filmmaker who can hopefully craft some memorable moments from this story. Naturally, MGM is hoping this will be the start of a franchise.

What does this do to the timetable for the sequel to Kingsman: The Secret Service? That remains to be seen. Production is scheduled to begin on I Am Pilgrim in 2016, and last we heard, Vaughn was still working on the script for Kingsman 2. If he's able to finish that quickly (or maybe if he's already done), he might be able to squeeze both movies in next year, but that's a tall order, even for the guy who brought X-Men: First Class from pre-production to final product in less than a year. I'd guess it'll be a while before we see that Kingsman sequel, though.

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