Colin Firth To ‘The Secret Service’ For Marvel, Director Matthew Vaughn

Colin Firth has entered talks for The Secret Service, an adaptation of the Marvel comic book series from director Matthew Vaughn, according to a Monday report from The Hollywood Reporter.

The website noted that it would be Firth’s first comic book film. Should negotiations go as expected, Firth will step into the role of a spy mentor and uncle to the lead character, who is a ruffian brought in to a British spy school with the hopes of creating the next 007.

Writer Mark Millar referred to the six-issue mini-series as “James Bond meets My Fair Lady,” in an April 2012 interview with THR.

Producers wanted Aaron Johnson for the lead in The Secret Service, but it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen. Johnson has been a bit of a favorite for Millar and Vaughn, who previously worked with the actor on Kick-Ass. The 22-year-old will reprise his role for Kick-Ass 2 and has since landed one of the leads in the upcoming Godzilla remake scheduled for release next year.

As for Colin Firth, the actor next has Devil’s Knot on his plate, The Wrap noted. That film will take a strikingly darker outlook, telling the controversial tale of the West Memphis Three, whom many believe were wrongly convicted of three brutal child murders in Arkansas.

Authorities claimed that the then-teenagers murdered the children as part of a satanic ritual. Private investigator Ron Lax (Firth) uncovered information missed in a flawed investigation, which kept the teenagers in prison for close to two decades before an equally controversial plea deal set them free without overturning their convictions in 2011, according to CBS.

A bit more on the case here:

Are you excited about the upcoming adaptation of The Secret Service? What do you think of casting Colin Firth in the spy mentor role?

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