'John Wick' Director Set to Film Tom Clancy's 'Rainbow Six' Novel

When Michael B. Jordan ("Creed," "Black Panther") was cast as John Kelly in the movie version of Tom Clancy's "Without Remorse," the actor seemed set for a long run playing one of the great Navy SEAL characters in modern fiction. The movie, co-written by Taylor Sheridan ("Yellowstone") and directed by Stefano Sollima ("Sicario: Day of the Soldado," written by Sheridan), was scheduled for a theatrical release in September 2020.

We all remember what happened to movies in 2020. Paramount Pictures had no idea when theaters were going to reopen after the pandemic shutdown, so they sold the movie to Amazon, which released it on their Prime Video streaming service in April 2021. That release seemed to spell the end of John Kelly, even as he left his past behind and became John Clark at the end of "Without Remorse."

In a welcome surprise, Paramount has decided to take another shot at turning former SEAL John Clark into a movie franchise with Michael B. Jordan back in the role. The most exciting news is that they've recruited Chad Stahelski, the stuntman-turned-director behind all four "John Wick" movies, to helm "Rainbow Six."

Stahelski is also planning a "Highlander" remake with Henry Cavill, but it looks like "Rainbow Six" will be his first directing job that doesn't feature the Marine-turned-hitman John Wick. Now that we're past the origin story told in "Without Remorse," the director can get down to business with the action and mayhem he's so good at staging.

In the 1998 novel "Rainbow Six," John Clark leads a counterterrorist organization called Rainbow from a secret base in England. His team must stop a radical environmentalist who wants to unleash a deadly virus that would thin the herd, killing most of mankind while only a select vaccinated few wait to inherit the earth.

Tom Clancy originally introduced Clark in the Jack Ryan novel "The Cardinal of the Kremlin" in 1988, and he has been a recurring character in the Ryan books.

There's no word about the fate of another recurring character from the Clancy universe. "Rainbow Six'' also features Domingo "Ding" Chavez, a character who's slated to be played by actor Michael Peña ("Fury") in the final season of "Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan," which will air later this year on Prime Video. Will Peña reprise the role in "Rainbow Six"? Will the movie cast a different actor or maybe alter the plot and write Chavez out of the story?

We'll keep an eye on this story as we get more casting news and information about a filming schedule.

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