Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Film Starring Michael B. Jordan Just Nabbed John Wick's Director
Based on the popular book and video game series, "Rainbow Six" is headed to the big screen (via The Hollywood Reporter). In 1998, famed author Tom Clancy, who wrote the "Jack Ryan" series of thrillers, wrote the book on which the video games and upcoming film are based. The book debuted at No. 1 on the New York Times bestseller list when it first came out. Then, two weeks after the book's release, a video game entitled "Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six," which was developed concurrently with the novel, was released. Over 20 games and expansion packs bearing the moniker have been produced since.
The book (and video game) features the character of John Clark, who also appeared in several novels in Clancy's "Ryanverse." "Creed" actor Michael B. Jordan starred as Clark in Stefano Sollima's film, "Without Remorse," which was released straight to streaming on Amazon Prime Video in 2021. He will be returning as the former Navy SEAL and CIA operative in the film adaptation of "Rainbow Six."
Taking over in the director's chair for the new film will be Chad Stahelski, who got his start as a stuntman on such films as the original "The Matrix" trilogy and went on to direct all four films in the "John Wick" series. Stahelski will also be directing the long-in-development upcoming remake of "Highlander" which is set to star Henry Cavill.
A Rainbow Six movie has been in the works for over five years
The novel "Rainbow Six" follows CIA operative John Clark who puts together the titular international counter-terrorist organization to take down radical environmentalists who are plotting a complex apocalyptic conspiracy. The film adaptation is set for a theatrical release through Paramount Pictures, who sold off the rights to the previous film in the series, "Without Remorse," to Prime Video in 2021 (per The Hollywood Reporter). While "Remorse" served as an origin story for Clark, no specific plot details for the "Rainbow Six" movie have been released. The ending of "Remorse" teased, in a mid-credits scene, the popular "Rainbow Six" storyline.
"Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six" video game series, which was initially developed by Clancy-founded Red Storm Entertainment before being handed off to Unisoft, has been an extremely popular series of games since 1998. The game is considered to be a benchmark for tactical, first-person shooter games. According to Deadline, a "Rainbow Six" film has been in development since 2017, when it was rumored that Ryan Reynolds would be playing the part of John Clark. Willem Defoe and Liev Schreiber have previously played Clark in the Clancy adaptations "Clean and Present Danger" and "The Sum of All Fears," respectively, before Michael B. Jordan took over the role in "Without Remorse."