Chris Pratt is quickly approaching Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson territory as the man to go to if you want to start a major franchise. First, the actor surprised everyone by shedding his “Parks and Rec” persona to become Star-Lord in the Marvel Studios film “Guardians of the Galaxy.” Then, he did it all over again, with even bigger box office totals, launching the “Jurassic World” franchise. Now, Paramount is hoping that Pratt can help launch a much-needed new franchise for the studio.
Deadline is reporting that Pratt is in talks to star in a new version of “The Saint.” “The Saint” tells the story of Simon Templar, wealthy adventurer, who goes around as a Robin Hood-esque hero targeting corrupt politicians, warmongers, and of course, your bargain basement criminals and other low life.
“The Saint” is based on the novels from author Leslie Charteris, the first being released in the late 1920s. The series was first adapted into a radio drama series, as was everything back at that time. However, “The Saint” was quickly adapted as a film in 1938, spawning over a half-dozen sequels. Then in the 1960s, Roger Moore took over the role in a long-running TV series of the same name.
However, you probably recognize the franchise based on the 1997 film starring Val Kilmer. That being said, as fans of the classic books will tell you, the film changed quite a bit from the Charteris book series. Unfortunately, that film wasn’t the huge success at the box office that was hoped, so sequels were never produced. In the mid-2000s, “The Saint” had a few failed attempts at a TV series.
But now, here we are, 21 years after Val Kilmer’s film, with Chris Pratt ready to step in the shoes of a former Bond actor and a former Batman actor. Still in its early stages, the folks at Paramount are hoping that Pratt would be the center of yet another major franchise. We’ll just have to wait and see.