Leslie Charteris’ debonair thief turned crime-fighter Simon Templar is ready to return to the big screen, with the news that ‘Rocketman’ and ‘Eddie the Eagle’ filmmaker Dexter Fletcher has been tapped to direct a reboot of ‘The Saint.’
Charteris’ book series follows Simon Templar, a debonair, smart, quick-witted criminal who stole from corrupt politicians and warmongers, and leaves a “calling card” of a stick figure with a halo.
The characters exploits have graced a variety of media; including movies, comics, television, and even a six-week run on Radio Athlone in 1940. A pre-James Bond Roger Moore led a revival of the property in the 1960s with the long-running television series ‘The Saint.’ A feature film starring Val Kilmer under the direction of Phillip Noyce arrived in 1997 but failed to light up the box office.
According to Variety, the new film features a script by Seth Grahame-Smith, with Lorenzo Di Bonaventura (‘Transformers,’ ‘G.I. Joe’) on board to produce along with Brad Krevoy and the late Robert Evans, posthumously.