Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan character has survived terrorists, the KGB, Colombian drug lords, and most impressively - the disastrous attempt at a film franchise reboot known as The Sum of All Fears. You can't keep a good CIA hero down though and Paramount is once again trying to reinvigorate the cinematic adventures of the character with Moscow - a film that features Chris Pine stepping into the lead role.

Back in April we learned that the film follows a pre-CIA Ryan who's trying to prove his innocence after being framed as the mastermind of a terrorist plot. At the time, there were no details about a possible start date but producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura (Transformers 3) recently went on the record.

Bonaventura spoke with Collider about the status of the film - and revealed that he plans to get Moscow in front of cameras early next year:

"We have a very good script. I think it’s…I’m very happy with where we are today and we’re looking forward to…maybe with a little luck starting next late winter/early spring."

Considering Pine's rising popularity, it's probably not a bad decision to move forward as quickly as possible - particularly since he's committed to shoot Star Trek 2 at some point next year as well.

Unlike the previous four Jack Ryan movies, Moscow is not based on one of Clancy's novels. Instead, screenwriter Adam Cozen is incorporating elements from Clancy's books into a reworked version of Dubai - an unfinished script he wrote several years back. While producer Mace Neufield previously stated that Moscow is neither a reboot nor an origin story, I'm not sure what to make of that as it sounds very much like both.

Regardless of its relation to past films, Chris Pine is an excellent choice for the Jack Ryan character (certainly better than James Franco or George Clooney) - and this already sounds like a more promising relaunch than The Sum of All Fears. Ben Affleck took a lot of criticism for his portrayal of Ryan but he was hardly the worst thing about that movie.

While Harrison Ford is probably the actor most associated with the role, I still prefer Alec Baldwin's take on Ryan in The Hunt for Red October. It's quite a legacy that Pine is inheriting but, as a performer, he seems pretty fearless and his charisma has already won over audiences - so I'm excited to see how he tackles the character.

While there's still no word on who might direct Moscow, it sounds like they're committed to getting this made sooner rather than later. I'd expect more news on the project to start coming out in the very near future.

Are you excited to hear Moscow's moving forward? How do you feel about the film so far?

Source: Collider