Prolific producer Frank Marshall knows a thing or two about action-packed spy thrillers, having backed the Bourne franchise with Matt Damon in the lead, so when words hits that he’s looking to develop a feature film based on Jeffrey Archer’s best-selling A Matter of Honor, we sit up and take notice.
Marshall’s credits are staggering. His producing resume boasts The Goonies, the Back to the Future trilogy, Martin Scorsese’s Cape Fear remake and Steven Spielberg’s Indiana Jones franchise. And Archer’s 1986 Honor novel sounds like its provides a crackerjack story ripe for a cinematic translation. Ex-military official Adam Scott is the book’s main character, son of a British colonel who embarks on a mission to retrieve a Russian icon that contains a secret document that could drastically alter U.S. history. The Hollywood Reporter had no specifics to share regarding potential casting or a director who could dive into Archer’s world, though Marshall said he’s eyeing a potential global franchise built around Scott that could go on to use the novelist’s Honor Among Thieves as the basis for a sequel.
"Jeffrey Archer is a master storyteller whose suspenseful plots and compelling characters have the potential for a multi-feature film franchise with both domestic and international appeal," Marshall said in a statement.
Spies currently are red hot in Hollywood. In addition to an A Matter of Honor adaptation, studios have mounted a fourth Mission: Impossible, the upcoming Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy from director Tomas Alfredson, yet another 007 adventure, and a fourth Bourne film, which Marshall will help produce. So everything comes back around full circle.
