Denzel Washington to Be Bourne 2.0? Starring in Ludlum's "The Materese Circle"

Given the runaway success of the Bourne films, it's not surprising at all to hear of other upcoming projects based on the works of Robert Ludlum. What is surprising is the fact that Denzel Washington is already signed to play the lead in a new Ludlum project, a film adaptation of The Matarese Circle. As described by The Hollywood Reporter, it sounds like delicious spy material:

The story centers on two secret agents -- an American and a Russian -- who must work together to fight a mysterious group of killers known as the Matarese. The twist is that the agents, Bradley Scofield and Vasili Taleniekov, have been nemeses for years, with each responsible for killing someone close to the other. 

I'm certainly not the only one loving Washington's grittier post-Training Day film persona, and this project looks to be a fitting addition to that mold. It also fulfills a long-standing wish of mine to see Washington in some sort of super-spy role after his great work in Man on Fire. The fan community would never have let him become Bond, but maybe he give us a fresh new take on a superspy ala Bourne.

The screenwriting duo who brought us 3:10 to Yuma and (uhg) 2 Fast 2 Furious, Michael Brandt and Derek Haas, are set to write the film. Apparently this was the only  other Ludlum book aside from the Bourne Identity that had a sequel written by him, which makes this project the start of a hopeful franchise as well.

We don't have much else on The Matarese Circle yet, but you can rest assured we'll be keeping a close eye on it..

[Source: The Hollywood Reporter]