According to a report by Mike Fleming of Variety, actor Chris Pine is currently in negotiations with Paramount to assume the role of Tom Clancy's famed CIA agent, Jack Ryan to reboot the franchise for a new set of adventures.
Paramount confirmed the report late Tuesday in a statement by Paramount Film Group president Adam Goodman, "Tom Clancy created an unfortgettable character with Jack Ryan. With Chris in the role, we've taken our first step in creating a reboot that lives up to the successful lineage of the franchise."
Pine, who already had been partly instrumental as the new Captain Kirk of the recent revitalization of "Star Trek" earlier this past May as the film went on to become the highest-grossing Trek installment in the franchise and one of the summer's biggest hits as it grossed $257.7 million, is starting to become the next hot actor on the Hollywood block.
Pine is currently working on a project opposite Denzel Washington titled, "Unstoppable" for 20th Century Fox, being directed by Tony Scott and is in separate talks with director D.J. Caruso in Paramount's upcoming production, "The Art of Making Money". While Pine is expected to return as Captain Kirk for the next Trek film due in theaters in the summer of 2011, its unclear as to whether if they will tackle the Jack Ryan reboot before or after the next Trek sequel.
Earlier back in July, rumors were going around that actor George Clooney had expressed interest in playing Jack Ryanm but Paramount at the time was uncertain on the direction of the franchise. Pine will be the fourth actor to assume the role of Jack Ryan, as he been played by Alec Baldwin in 1990's "The Hunt for Red October" opposite Shawn Connery. Then Harrison Ford played Jack Ryan twice in the following sequels "Patriot Games" in 1992 and 1994's "Clear and Present Danger" and Ben Affleck in 2002's "The Sum of All Fears".