The name Tom Clancy is synonymous with espionage. Over the course of his career, the late literary legend penned some of the best-selling novels of the 20th century, and his work has become one of the most well-respected action brands of all time. With such a sterling reputation backing his fictional world, it now looks like one of Clancy's most famous books will finally get the silver screen treatment it deserves. On that note, a Rainbow Six movie is reportedly now in development, with Ryan Reynolds up for a major role.
With a Rainbow Six movie now in development, the project appears to have an eye on Deadpool star (and perpetual smartass) Ryan Reynolds for a lead role. Reynolds hasn't confirmed his involvement yet, but the reports seem to suggest that he could land the part of John Clark, a career special forces operative who leads the Rainbow organization. Predominately based on the 1999 book of the same name (as well as the hit video game series) Rainbow Six centers on a crack team of soldiers sent to thwart an escalating series of terrorist attacks by a shadowy organization bent on fundamentally destroying the world order as we know it. It's a bit more serious than Reynolds' current Marvel-inspired action franchise, but that could be a refreshing change of pace.
If Ryan Reynolds does indeed step in to portray Rainbow Six's John Clark, he will be the latest in a line of actors to take on the role of the tactical badass. For starters, Willem Dafoe famously portrayed the character alongside Harrison Ford's Jack Ryan in Clear and Present Danger.
Following that portrayal, Liev Schreiber inherited the part in 2002's The Sum of All Fears alongside Ben Affleck's version of Ryan as a far darker and more violent version of the badass anti-hero. Each actor who has portrayed Clark has added something new to the persona, so we're hoping that Ryan Reynolds can potentially do the same with his take on the character.
The Deadline report about a Rainbow Six film isn't terribly surprising, because Hollywood has never really shied away from going to the Tom Clancy well for inspiration. From The Hunt for Red October to Patriot Games, and even the release of Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, the iconic author's stories have become focal points of the modern espionage genre. Couple that with the fact that Amazon is already in the process of rebooting the Jack Ryan brand (with John Krasinski in the titular role) for an upcoming TV series, and a Rainbow Six film with Ryan Reynolds in the lead seems like a perfect fit.
If Rainbow Six proves successful with audiences, then it stands to reason that it could potentially open the floodgates for other, non-Jack Ryan Tom Clancy adaptations to enter the picture as well. Specifically, fans have long been teased about the possibility of adaptations of the Splinter Cell and The Division game series, and the success of Rainbow Six could provide definitive proof of concept for Paramount that audiences actually want that brand of authentic, gritty thriller.
We will bring you more information about the upcoming Rainbow Six adaptation as more details related to the project become available to us. For now, take a look at our 2017 movie premiere guide for more up to date specifics on the rest of this year's theatrical release!
