After the success of its Elton John biopic “Rocketman,” Paramount has set filmmaker Dexter Fletcher to direct another high-profile project for the studio.
Fletcher will helm “The Saint,” a reboot of its 1997 action thriller that starred Val Kilmer. The globe-trotting adventure is based on the 1920s novel series written by Leslie Charteris.
Seth Grahame-Smith wrote the script for “The Saint,” while Lorenzo Di Bonaventura (“Transformers,” “G.I. Joe) is producing along with Brad Krevoy and the late Robert Evans, posthumously.
The movie follows Simon Templar (a.k.a. The Saint), a Robin Hood-esque criminal and thief for hire. The book character also inspired a 1960’s TV show. While the ’90s film adaptation didn’t kickstart a franchise as hoped, the studio sees renewed potential for a long-running movie series.
“The Saint” will mark another genre film for Fletcher, who recently signed on to direct Universal’s monster movie “Renfield.” That adaptation will focus on R.M. Renfield, an inmate at a lunatic asylum who was thought to be suffering from delusions, but is actually a servant of Dracula. Plot details are currently unknown, though it’s believed to take place during the present day and is not a period piece.
Paramount pursued Fletcher for “The Saint” after the critical and commercial success of “Rocketman.” Prior to that movie, Fletcher took over filmmaking duties of “Bohemian Rhapsody,” Fox’s Queen biopic, after director Bryan Singer was fired midway through shooting.
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Fletcher is repped by CAA and Sloane, Offer, Weber and Dern.