Universal to Adapt Robert Ludlum's The Janson Directive

Universal is moving forward with a film adaptation of Robert Ludlum's The Janson Directive with the expectation (hope?) that it could become another Bourne-type franchise for the studio. John Hlavin is writing the screenplay.

In the book, it's up to Paul Janson — a legend in the notorious US covert agency Consular Operations — to save billionaire philanthropist Peter Novak when he is kidnapped by a terrorist known as The Caliph. But Janson's rescue operation goes horribly wrong … and soon Janson is marked for death, the target of a "beyond salvage" order issued from the highest level of the government. Now Janson is running for his life, pursued by Jessica Kincaid, a young agent of astonishing ability who can anticipate and counter his every move. To survive, Janson must outrace a conspiracy that has gone beyond the control of its originators. To win, he must counter it with a conspiracy of his own …

The Janson Directive, published posthumously a year after the author's death in 2001, will be followed by a sequel, The Janson Command by Paul Garrison, to be published early next year.

(Source: Deadline.)