Universal has reportedly paid $1.2 million for a spec script from first-timer Aaron Berg without a director or star attached to the project even though the likes of Justin Lin (Fast & Furious 6) and Hugh Jackman have apparently been made aware of the feature.
Titled Section 6, the film is about the formation of the British intelligence agency MI6 and it not only attracted the attention of Universal, but Sony, Warner Bros. and DreamWorks were among the four studios battling for rights over the weekend. Deadline has the story and relays the script details as follows:
The script tells a compelling story that isn’t at all dry and dusty. The focus is Sir Mansfield Cummings, the storied Brit spymaster who was the inspiration for James Bond’s boss M. In 1919, his intelligence section, called Section 1C, was going to be folded into MI5, which is similar to our FBI in that it focuses on domestic threats. Spies coming through 1C all came from Oxford and Cambridge, aristocrats who stuck out like sore thumbs. Cummings got hold of a blue collar war veteran, trained him and sent him on a crucial mission: an attack on the British embassy in Russia (in which is now St. Petersberg) led to the theft of coded assassination orders signed by the King of England. The spy was tasked with recovering them because had they been discovered, WWII would have begun with those countries on opposite sides. Cummings etched his place in history and proved the need for MI6. The script was unusual in that is was peppered with actual newspaper clippings from the period to inform of how the stories were covered by British papers back then.
[amz asin=”B00EK6RM92″ size=”small”]In essence, it would appear Universal may have a new action franchise on their hands and while simply hearing MI6 conjures thoughts of James Bond, this sounds like it could be a little more action-heavy version of something like Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, which I would certainly be all for.
It will be interesting to see who Universal eventually attaches to the project, do you have any favorites you’d prefer based on the description?
