Plans are underway to bring to the big screen the world of author Tom Wood’s “Victor the Assassin” novels. The Hollywood Reporter today brings word that Taken helmer Pierre Morel is set to direct The Killer, based on the first entry in the series (titled The Hunter in some territories). Published in 2010, it is officially described as follows:
The hunter has become the hunted.
Victor is a freelancer, a professional, a killer—the best there is. Hes ice cold, methodical, and deadly. He lives alone. He operates alone. No one knows his background, or even his name. For him, business is a straight transaction. Hes given a job; he takes out the target; he gets paid.
Hes in Paris to perform a standard kill and collect for an anonymous client. The contract is simple, routine, and Victor completes it with trademark efficiency, only to find himself in the middle of an ambush and fighting for his life. Faced with powerful and determined enemies, and caught in the crossfire of an international conspiracy unfolding across four continents, Victor is forced to go on the run across a winter-ravaged Europe. Pursued by the authorities, hired assassins, and intelligence agencies from both sides of the Atlantic, he discovers that no place is safe for him anymore and there is no one he can trust.
But Victor is no easy target, and hes every bit as ruthless as those hunting him. He will find out who wants him dead and why, one corpse at a time.
Morel is reteaming with The Picture Company producers Alex Heineman and Andrew Rona, both of whom worked with him on the upcoming The Gunman, starring Sean Penn, Javier Bardem and Idris Elba. Sentient Entertainment’s Renee Tab and Christopher Tuffin will also produce.
