‘Sniper Elite’ Movie Coming From ‘Rampage’ Director Brad Peyton
RampagefilmmakerBrad Peytonhas zeroed in on his next directing effort.
A new report says Peyton will direct aSnipe Elitemovie, which will be an adaptation of the video game franchise that kicked off in 2005.
Varietyreports that Peyton (Journey 2: The Mysterious Island,Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore) will direct the “character-driven action thriller,” which “will see an elite Allied sniper, Karl Fairburne, engage in a cat-and-mouse chase through the streets of London at the height of the Blitz during World War II, as he tries to save British Prime Minister Winston Churchill from a Nazi assassin.“Jean-Julien Baronnet(Assassin’s Creed) and game producerJason Kingsleyare producing, whileGary Graham(A Garden at the End of the World) is co-writing the script with Peyton. The writers are looking to turn this into aSherlock HolmesmeetsThe Bourne Identitytype of thriller, with the lead character being forced to “make a choice between the fate of the war and confronting his deepest secret.” The cat-and-mouse aspect comes down to two snipers hunting each other across the city, and Baronnet promises that audiences will be rooting for both characters.
“There’s so much tension and character in this story, the potential for taut, exciting action is all there,” Peyton said in a statement. “What’s amazing aboutSniper Eliteis its focus on stealth and strategy, but also fun and incredible twists. I can’t wait for audiences to follow and care for a hero that will have to face the most dangerous and challenging mission of his life.”
Peyton has previously worked with actors like Dwayne Johnson onSan AndreasandRampage(San Andreas 2is in the works), Jason Momoa in the TV seriesFrontier, and Aaron Eckhart in the 2016 movieIncarnate, and any of those guys seem like they might be willing to lead a film likeSniper Elite. Johnson’s schedule seems the most locked up in advance and it might strain credulity to assume that someone that massive would be an effective sniper, so I doubt he’ll actually do it. But I’m curious to see who ends up getting cast here, and if Peyton will be able to create a movie that enters the pantheon of sniper films alongsideEnemy at the Gates,Sniper, Clint Eastwood’sAmerican Sniper,Phone Booth, andGrand Piano.
“One of the things that I’m always interested in is working with people that know the source material, and he knew the source, which was great,” Kingsley said. “Brad clearly had an in-depth knowledge of how to make a movie out of a game without compromising either. We’re not going to make a film version of the game.”
Here’s a trailer for one of the more recent games in the franchise:
