Kenneth Branagh to Direct, Star in New Jack Ryan Thriller

It has been ages — OK, just 16 months but it seems like forever — since we've had an update on the "Jack Ryan" film project starring Chris Pine.

Back in April 2011 we reported on the latest in a long line of screenwriters to pen a script for the film.

But clearly we've missed an article or two since then as it seems to be widely known that Kenneth Branagh is on board to direct. Today's news is that Branagh will also star … as the villain.

No title yet and no word on a screenplay, but it is expected that this will be in original "origins" storyline not based on any of Tom Clancy's novels. Branagh is expected to play the role of Viktor Stazov, a financial wiz who, with the help of the Russian government, masterminds a plot to devalue American currency and thus destroy the U.S. economy. Chris Pine will play a young Jack Ryan, a financial analyst in Moscow, who uncovers the plot.

Three other actors have played Jack Ryan in four films: Alec Baldwin (The Hunt for Red October, 1990), Harrison Ford (Patriot Games, 1992; and Clear and Present Danger, 1994), and Ben Affleck (The Sum of All Fears, 2002).

(Related article: THR.)