Regé-Jean Page is set to follow in Roger Moore's footsteps in Paramount's reboot of The Saint.
The Bridgerton actor will executive producing and star in the project, THR reports. Kwame Kwei-Armah OBE, the current artistic director of London's The Young Vic, is penning a new version of the script. Kwei-Armah is also co-writing Spike Lee's upcoming musical project, and co-wrote 892, which stars John Boyega. Alongside Page, Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Brad Krevoy, and Mark Vahradian will produce, as well as the late Robert Evans, who will be credited posthumously.
The new movie is shrouded in secrecy at the moment, but the source material is Leslie Charteris' series of books and short stories which follow Simon Templar, a kind of Robin Hood-style criminal who takes down baddies and leaves behind a calling card featuring a stick figure with a halo over his head. Deadline reports that their sources indicate the new film will be a total reimagining of the character and the world.
Back in the '60s, Moore played Templar in The Saint TV series, which ran for seven years – and Page acknowledged his predecessor in a tweet.
pic.twitter.com/9Hs71Bkg1FJuly 27, 2021
Of course, Moore also famously played 007 in several James Bond movies through the '70s and '80s. Page is among the favorites to be the next Bond when Daniel Craig leaves the role after the upcoming No Time to Die, though at the moment, it's anyone's guess who'll be receiving the license to kill next.
Paramount released a movie version of The Saint in 1997, with Val Kilmer starring as Templar. This isn't the first iteration of the new project, either: a previous version was set to feature Chris Pine, with Dexter Fletcher directing. It's unknown if Fletcher, who is helming The Offer, a Paramount Plus series about the making of The Godfather, is involved in this reboot.
Page, who is not returning for more Bridgerton, is also set to appear in Netflix's upcoming thriller The Gray Man, from Avengers: Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo and starring Chris Evans, Ryan Gosling, and Ana de Armas. Page also has a part in Paramount's Dungeons & Dragons movie, and was recently Emmy nominated for Best Actor in a Drama Series for Bridgerton.
There's no word on a release date for The Saint just yet, but in the meantime, check out our guide to all of 2021's upcoming movie release dates.
