Questions Remain About Vince Flynn Movie – “Consent to Kill”

Fans wondering who will play Mitch Rapp

All New Mitch Rapp Movie Update – June, 2011!

Fans of Vince Flynn’s Mitch Rapp novels will finally get to see their hero on the big screen, but who will they see?  Casting remains one of the biggest questions for fans of the author and his series of counter-terrorism novels.

Early on, there was only a studio – CBS Films optioned the movie rights to Consent to Kill in 2008.  Then came a screenplay by Jonathan Lemkin.  Early this year it was announced that Antoine Fuqua would direct.

Right there we have at least one iffy decision.  Jonathan Lemkin’s resume is neither long nor impressive – and there was a 7 year break between his last two projects.  However, he did pen Shooter, which Fuqua also directed, so maybe his presence had some pull in getting the director behind Training Day involved in the project.  But neither director nor screenwriter give me great confidence – both have minimal credits and even more minimal quality credits.

Also at issue is why CBS and Flynn decided to start with book 7 in a series when making the first Mitch Rapp film.  Will it necessitate too much monkeying around with both the arc of this story and the establishment of the Mitch Rapp character?  Another reason to question the decision to bring in a screenwriter without a more impressive and extensive resume.

But the biggest question of all remains unanswered – who will play lead character Mitch Rapp?  It looks like Fuqua and producers Lorenzo Di Bonaventura and Nick Wechsler have narrowed the field to three:

Gerard Butler, who seems to be a fan favorite and perhaps the frontrunner.

Colin Farrell, whose broody good looks and (let’s face it) better acting chops may give him an edge.  If he can behave himself.

Matthew Fox, whose only saving grace seems to be that he really, really wants the role.

Fan sites are looking to be all over Butler, but who knows?  There’s been little news on the project since Fuqua signed on.  Even with a script and a director, this thing is going nowhere fast.  Get casting already, CBS – Vince Flynn and Mitch Rapp fans are tired of waiting!!

Consent to Kill has a scheduled release date of 2012, which seems like a long time away.  But if they don’t get moving on casting they aren’t going to make even that generous deadline.  Fans are clamoring, time’s a’wastin’, let’s see some action on this Vince Flynn movie!

Gerard Butler profile here.

Looking for an update?  Go here!

Who do you think should play the lead?  Vote in our Mitch Rapp Poll

Sue Millinocket

Sue reads a lot, writes a lot, edits a lot, and loves a good craft. She was deemed “too picky” to proofread her children’s school papers and wears this as a badge of honor. She is also proud of her aggressively average knitting skills  She is the Editorial Director at Silver Beacon Marketing and an aspiring Crazy Cat Lady.