Universal has Berlin prizewinner Jose Padilha to direct international thriller Sigma Protocol, says The Hollywood Reporter.
The studio is in final negotiations with the helmer of Elite Squad, the action movie that won the Golden Bear at last year’s Berlin International Film Festival, to direct the Robert Ludlum vehicle.
The studio is planning on a summer shoot.
“Sigma” is based on Ludlum’s final complete novel, which was published after the prolific author’s death. Like the Jason Bourne franchise, another big Universal property, the story involves a modern-day man on the run in Europe from a series of international assassins and agents.
The two plots differ sharply, though, with the latter using a World War II conspiracy and Nazis as a plot hook.
Matt Holloway and Art Marcum, who penned Iron Man, are signed on to write the script.
