On Tuesday IESB revealed virtually unkown writer Kyle Ward had been tapped to pen the screenplay for Hitman 2, a sequel to the awful 2007 videogame adaptation starring Timothy Olyphant as Agent 47 based on the Eidos videogame. The film was critically panned, but went on to make $39 million domestically, but fell just shy of $100 million in worldwide grosses. The original release had a $30 million budget, which means DVD and Blu-ray sales must have surely sent it into the black, but I wonder who is the bigger supporter of a sequel, Fox or Eidos?

Both IESB and Variety mention the anticipated late 2010 release of Eidos's "Hitman 5" and Variety says the film will contain story elements from the videogame sequel. What better way to market a videogame than a feature film adaptation telling all the young kiddies they can watch the killing before they do a little of their own?

I have read Microsoft spent over $30-55 million to market "Halo 3" and I have to believe Rockstar Games doubled that tally with "Grand Theft Auto IV" which is said to have had north of a $100 million budget. However, "Grand Theft Auto IV" hit an estimated one-week tally of $500 million in sales with "Halo 3" making something like $170 million on its first day. Why wouldn't a videogame developer consider a $30 million movie to market the release of an upcoming videogame? You get your money back in box-office, DVD and Blu-ray sales and the awareness of your game is through the roof. And we aren't talking about your usual crap tie-in games, in this case the game is the quality product while the movie is the crap that precedes it.

Variety reports the sequel will find the title character, Agent 47, at a low point. He must build himself back up psychologically and physically to reclaim his mantle as the world's most feared assassin.

Ward got the job after sripting Kane and Lynch, another Eidos game adaptation, in which Bruce Willis is attached to play Adam "Kane" Marcus, a mercenary who makes an unlikely alliance with schizophrenic killer James Lynch. The pair are forced on a mission to retrieve a stolen microchip. That film is actually expected to begin production by year's end with Simon Crane directing.

There is no mention whether or not Olyphant is confirmed to return, but I would assume his contract would have him signed for at least two more.

Related post categories: Writing Gigs : Hitman

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