Matthew Vaughn To Direct Thriller 'I Am Pilgrim'

With the creative team behind "Kingsman: The Secret Service" still figuring out how to bring back Colin Firth for a sequel (here’s an idea: don’t), Matthew Vaughn has taken some time to look at some other gigs, and he’s signing up for one. And moreover, this gig doesn’t involve embracing or subverting spy film tropes.

Vaughn will produce, co-finance and direct "I Am Pilgrim." Based on the debut novel by Terry Hayes (screenwriter behind "Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior," "Payback," "From Hell"), the story follows an american intelligence operative headed into retirement, until one more case pulls him back in. Here’s the book synopsis:

A breakneck race against time…and an implacable enemy.

An anonymous young woman murdered in a run-down hotel, all identifying characteristics dissolved by acid.

A father publicly beheaded in the blistering heat of a Saudi Arabian public square.

A notorious Syrian biotech expert found eyeless in a Damascus junkyard.

Smoldering human remains on a remote mountainside in Afghanistan.

A flawless plot to commit an appalling crime against humanity.

One path links them all, and only one man can make the journey.

Pilgrim.

Okay, I’m curious to see where this goes. The project is set up at MGM and the plan is for production to get underway for next year, which I would assume means that cameras will roll on ‘Kingsman 2’ afterwards, considering they’re still working out the script. Frankly, while I’m not a big Vaughn fan, seeing him in a more serious mode intrigues me more than another winky piece of popcorn fluff. [Deadline]