So the first trailer for the new Hitman movie (developed by 20th Century Fox), a total reboot since the 2007 adaptation was so damn terrible, has finally been revealed. The film is called Hitman: Agent 47 and stars Homeland's Rupert Friend as the titular Agent 47 opposite Star Trek's Zachary Quinto and Oldboy's Hannah Ware in an original story about the bar-coded, bald-headed assassin. It's easy to be lured into the excitement and franchise re-invigoration that the trailer promises, but there are a few things to consider here.
So with such a rich history on the gaming scene you would have thought that transferring it into a cinematic experience would be relatively simple, but let's face it. Movie studios have been struggling since the early nineties to produce a film based on a game which is actually decent. It was therefore no surprise that 20th Century Fox's first attempt at Hitman back in 2007 fell flat. Along with a generic story, the characters will tragically miscast (Timothy Olyphant as Agent 47 - Seriously?!) and received a backlash from both gamers and cinema goers alike. Olyphant, the film's star, later confirmed that he only accepted the role because he needed the money following the cancellation of Deadwood in 2006 and therefore had no interest in pursuing a sequel. Eventually, any idea for a sequel was scrapped and the reboot which nobody but Fox asked for was pushed into production from 2013 onwards.
It's interesting that Woods has not been relieved of his scriptwriting duties for the good of all Hollywood, but perhaps more interesting that Fox are quite happy to let him continue writing movies which inevitably turn out to be train wrecks. It's fair to say that, yes, awful films often make tons o' money (did y'all see those Resident Evil movies?), as it's also fair to say that a film with a decent storyline and well developed characters can - if marketed properly - pave the way for a stable franchise. Keeping Woods on board the Hitman film series as screenwriter is a bigger risk to it as a cinematic franchise than bringing on somebody new, but to be fair - he probably accepted a much lower salary than any other writer of higher talent. And - of course - money is the driving force behind any cinematic production, regardless of actual quality. Hitman: Agent 47 is also the directorial debut of Aleksander Bach who, although he has been awarded several times for his work directing television adverts, has limited experience on the set of a multi-million dollar production. Again, instead of bringing on a director with proven experience Fox has opted for the cheaper option. Their choices indicate that their faith in the project is not solid, so neither should yours. I just hope this one-off venture into this gaming-to-film attempt won't tarnish the names of the rising acting talent involved.
Doomed!
Watch this space!