The long rumored, oft-delayed big screen adaptation of the IO/Eidos video game Hitman is up and running. With the recent announcement Luc Besson will be co-producing, (I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again- he’s everywhere! Those underpants you’re wearing? Besson actually produced them), fans of the series will see garrote-centered action much sooner than later.
So who will the bald assassin (codenamed Agent 47) be, now that Vin Diesel has moved on to Babylon A.D.? If the headline didn’t give it away, one Mr. Timothy Olyphant. Olyphant’s previous work includes playing real-life Deadwood Marshall Seth Bullock in the HBO series Deadwood. Olyphant will also be a villainous antagonist to Bruce Willis’ wise-cracking cop in the upcoming (and by the look of the trailer, action-freakin’ packed) Die Hard.
As for that sooner than later part, Hitman will begin production in March in a yet unnamed country of Europe. The story is based on a script written by Skip Woods, who also brought Halle Berry’s unclothed lady lumps to the big screen when he wrote the Jackman vs. Travolta explode-fest Swordfish.
Hitman follows the story of Agent 47, a lab-raised genetically engineered assassin. Treking the globe, Agent 47 pays the rent by stealthily dispatching high profile targets while (sort of) wrestling with his murderous ways.