Tyler Perry Cast as Alex Cross in Film Adaptation of I, Alex Cross by James Patterson

The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that Tyler Perry will reprise Morgan Freeman's role as Alex Cross in a film adaptation of I, Alex Cross, the 16th book in this long-running series of mysteries by James Patterson. Rob Cohen will direct a screenplay, originally drafted by Patterson and Kerry Williamson.

Freeman played the homicide detective with a background in forensic psychology in two previous adaptations of Patterson's novels, Kiss the Girls (1997) and Along Came a Spider (2001). In a separate project, now apparently shelved, Idris Elba had been cast as Alex Cross in a film adaptation of the author's 12th book, simply titled Cross.

In I, Alex Cross, the detective is pulled out of a family celebration and given the awful news that a beloved relative has been found brutally murdered. Alex vows to hunt down the killer, and soon learns that she was mixed up in one of Washington's wildest scenes. And she was not this killer's only victim. The hunt for her 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. Alex and Bree are soon facing down some very important, very protected, very dangerous people in levels of society where only one thing is certain -- they will do anything to keep their secrets safe.

You can read the first chapter(s) of I, Alex Cross below. Use the Aa settings button to adjust text size, line spacing, and word density.