Back in August when a reboot of the Alex Cross/Morgan Freeman crime-fighting psychologist series was first announced with The Wire's Idris Elba circling to lead and David Twohy (Pitch Black, A Perfect Getaway) set to direct James Patterson's recently published entry
I, Alex Cross - I mentioned that my interest levels in the project were reaching around the 7 mark. That was mostly because I am a huge fan of Elba and he seemed a good fit for a whole new trilogy of overly elaborate, crime fiction to be based around him as the central figure but after today's announcement, you can drop that mark down to about a 2, if not lower.
Deadline reports that
Tyler Perry is to step into Morgan Freeman's formidable shoes as Dr. Alex Cross, with mega hack
Rob Cohen to direct in what is a whole talent shake-up at Paramount, and a probable decision to skew less darker and more fanciful/mainstream. For Perry then it's a very left-field and surprising turn for the man best known for frequently delivering the popular Madea film hits and who very rarely works outside of the comfort zone of the films he himself writes, produces, directs and stars in himself. The only other film that comes to mind is a brief turn in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek. We're guessing the new take on Pattersons predictable formula will be sexed up a notch or two from
1997s
Kiss The Girls and then the weaker 2001 effort
Along Came A Spider. Here's the plot blurb of the novel
from Amazon, which we know has been scripted for screen by
Kerry Williamsom;
Can Alex Cross survive his most chilling - and personal - case ever? Pulled out of a family celebration, Detective Alex Cross gets awful news: A beloved relative has been found brutally murdered. Vowing to catch the killer, he quickly learns that she was mixed up in one of Washington, D.C.s wildest scenes. And she was not this killers only victim . . . The hunt for the murderer leads Alex and his girlfriend, Detective Brianna Stone, to a place where every fantasy is possible, if you have the credentials to get in. Soon they confront some very important, very protected, and very dangerous people who will do anything to keep their secrets safe. As Alex closes in on the killer, he discovers evidence that points to the unimaginable - a revelation that could rock the entire world.
The idea is for a whole new trilogy which we liked the idea of when it was Elba... but Perry and Cohen, really?