Diesel leaves, Olyphant joins Hitman movie?

  • By thorsen-ink, GameSpot
  • Posted Dec 5, 2006 4:53 pm PT

Source: The ever-enthusiastic showbiz rumor mill known as Ain't-It-Cool-News. What we heard: In June 2005, the interests of gamers and film geeks collided. That's when Variety revealed that Vin Diesel would be donning the well-pressed suit of Agent 47, the titular assassin of the best-selling...

Source: The ever-enthusiastic showbiz rumor mill known as Ain't-It-Cool-News.

What we heard: In June 2005, the interests of gamers and film geeks collided. That's when Variety revealed that Vin Diesel would be donning the well-pressed suit of Agent 47, the titular assassin of the best-selling Hitman series from Eidos, in a forthcoming film version.

A gamer since the Dungeons & Dragons era, Diesel helped produce and starred in one of the best-reviewed film-based games of all time, The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay. Given Diesel's passion for game-movie synergy, news of his casting raised hopes that the big-screen Hitman would be superior to subpar adaptations of the subterranean Uwe Boll subgenre.

In February, Midway Games and MTV Films announced that Diesel would star in both the game and film versions of The Wheelman, an all-new property. A trailer for the game was on display at E3 2006...where nary a word was heard about Diesel's involvement in the Hitman film.

Indeed, little news about Hitman surfaced over the past year until today, when Ain't It Cool News reported that Diesel was off the project. According to the site, he is being replaced by actor Timothy Olyphant (pictured), most famous for his role as the emotionally tortured and often-violent town sheriff in the HBO series Deadwood.

The AICN report says that a script for Hitman by screenwriter Skip Woods (Swordfish) has finally been green lit by 20th Century Fox, one of the studios that pulled out of the Halo movie this fall. The movie is now reportedly being produced by French filmmaker Luc Besson (La Femme Nikita, The Fifth Element), who has all but retired from directing, along with the project's original producers Chuck Gordon, Adrian Askarieh, and Daniel Alter.

The official story: While many sites republished the story as though it was a news release, nothing has yet been publicly confirmed by 20th Century Fox. As of press time, Eidos reps still hadn't heard back from the producers of the film on whether the Olyphant casting was a lock.

Bogus or not bogus?: Though its record is spotty, AICN has a knack for breaking major stories before the trades. However, nothing is official...yet.

230 Comments

  • anilm001

    Posted Apr 15, 2007 4:57 am PT

    I personally feel that Diesel would have been perfect, given the fact that his voice and physical appearance suited the role very nicely.

    Well I m not gonna be happy but lets see what happens???

  • Umbrella_CEO

    Posted Apr 6, 2007 6:10 pm PT

    decoy1978 I do think Jason Statham would have made an EXCELLENT Hitman. Though Im gonna reserve more of my judgement about the actor until more press is released. Roger Craig got a lot of flack as the new Bond, but he sold audiences on a more realistic Bond than his predecessors. You don't need to actively look the part to make the character work, though it does help =p

    --------------------------------------------------------------
    I agree with everything you said. Oh, and that's Daniel Craig not Roger Craig. IDK where you got Roger from.

  • acklawhunt

    Posted Mar 21, 2007 4:36 pm PT

    Thank god. Vin Diesel is a great actor but Hitman is definitely not for him.

  • Immortal_Zarok

    Posted Feb 28, 2007 7:03 pm PT

    I think vin would have made a great 47 it seems like a good role for him although if you want someone who looks like him I always thought that guy from the Transporter movies looked a lot like 47

  • Khrone68

    Posted Feb 9, 2007 2:12 pm PT

    Personally, I don't really care who plays the role of Agent 47 as long as they can act and have a bald head. If the actor's not bald, then they should shave their head for the role. What I really care about though is how the director and scriptwriters create the character. Being a huge fan of the Hitman series, I definitely do not want to see an Agent 47 with a Duke Nukem-like attitude.

  • esplender

    Posted Jan 26, 2007 3:51 am PT

    well..i guess it would be a dark movie..but definitely a worth-to-wait movie..i'm looking forward for a Hitman that is quiet, don't talk too much, but strangle much, shoot less, and sneak much..how interesting..

  • furqan2006

    Posted Jan 25, 2007 12:11 pm PT

    the game is so bloody what will the movie look like.

  • furqan2006

    Posted Jan 25, 2007 12:09 pm PT

    i am a big fan of hitman series and i have played every single hitman game. I would love to see hitman movies for sure

  • esplender

    Posted Jan 25, 2007 6:47 am PT

    may i suggest patrick stewart (capt. Jean-Luc-Picard of the USS Enterprise) to be Hitman?

  • mac_ronin

    Posted Jan 2, 2007 10:44 pm PT

    Olyphant for Max Payne !

    hmm thats not even a bad idea

  • mac_ronin

    Posted Jan 2, 2007 10:40 pm PT

    stupid fools.......

    diesel isnt cut for th job aswell as for olyphant

    jason statham is THE best choice
    i just know he can pull it off..

    peroid


    man if only we could call him

  • devonne13

    Posted Dec 29, 2006 2:59 pm PT

    Vin Diesel is the guy for this movie he look almost like agent 47

  • hitman047m4

    Posted Dec 29, 2006 7:15 am PT

    I still think that Jason Statham is the perfect known established action actor to play the Hitman character...but the people who are running the casting should take a look to more actors, known and unknown...what about David Bateson, the voice and model for the Hitman series...well I still think, and is my personal opinion, that the Hitman character should look or be European, and not a American...well at least I won't have to see Agent 47 saying: "The things I'm gonna do for my country"..."I told him that cigarette would kill him one of these days" or "I live for this ****" The HITMAN has spoken!

  • _Sam_

    Posted Dec 20, 2006 2:12 pm PT

    I think that Diesel would have been good. Not the acting really, but more of the way Vin Diesel is built. He's strong, and bald. He seems like he could be agent 47

  • gamerTag-shank

    Posted Dec 12, 2006 12:47 pm PT

    Sherif Bullock (Timothy Olyphant) will make a great Hitman. Do any of us really need to see another deadpan Vin Diesel performance?

  • dylan111291

    Posted Dec 12, 2006 8:47 am PT

    Oh David Baeteson voices agent 47! Well There you go David Baeteson Should play the role as agent 47 not timothy or those other guys if hte guy has the voice of agnet 47 form the games he should definitly play the character in the movie. And this movie better not be pg 13 it needs to be something thats gonna hit the box office. Horror rated.

  • sswajeta

    Posted Dec 11, 2006 10:57 pm PT

    Meh well...never liked Diesel in the first place, i think he's too buff to be Agent 47...but still to replace him with a guy with hair:S ? very awkward even if they do shave his hair off or put a bald wig on or something its still not gonna look as original

  • nynthninja

    Posted Dec 11, 2006 8:53 pm PT

    this new guy aint such a bad actor but hes not Agent 47, he does look a bit like max payne

  • Dylanius

    Posted Dec 11, 2006 1:51 pm PT

    My God! Cast David Bateson!

    http://imdb.com/name/nm0061055/

    F****** look at him! He voices 47 and he even resembles him! Sure I respect Diesel, he's an awesome action hero, but I think hes inappropriate for 47. What's their solution? G**D**** pretty-boy Olyphant who belongs on the cover of People. Do I look at either of these actors and think "Hmm. Why, he's just a face in a crowd! Doesn't he look a bit like that clown the neighbors employed a couple weeks ago? Back before that unfortunate poisoning ordeal?" Vin Diesel maybe, but he's way too big for 47. GET DAVID BATESON! I agree with that other Dylan. This movie must be a horror film. Im not gonna settle for a retarded bond-clone shoot-em-up. Jason Statham is a joke. Sure, he could be *a* hitman, but he's in no way anything like 47. 47 isn't even English. Maybe he could pull off an American accent. Using Jason Statham would be like employing Tom Cruise or even Vin Diesel for that matter to play James Bond. Neither of whom are particularly English.

  • dylan111291

    Posted Dec 10, 2006 3:48 pm PT

    How about (Lex Luthor)Micheal Rosenbaum from smallville I think he would be a great agent 47. But this movie should be a horror movie and it should actually be scary.
    Here is a pic of this guy he looks a lot like agent 47 http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A9htfR62m3xFPUsA876jzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTBsaDc3OWcxBHNlYwNwcm9mBHZ0aWQDSTA2Ml84NA--/SIG=12vct7vol/EXP=1165880630/**http%3a//www.starwars.com/episode-iii/release/publicity/img/20050609_1_sm.jpg

  • inimene006

    Posted Dec 10, 2006 12:01 pm PT

    David Bateson isn't too bad choice... well have the good old voice we all know and love

    http://ia.ec.imdb.com/media/imdb/01/I/82/80/00/10m.jpg

  • gboy9

    Posted Dec 9, 2006 9:52 pm PT

    Vin = 90% looking like hitman
    olypahnt= negative -89% lookin like hitman.
    statham=50/50

  • mattxavier

    Posted Dec 9, 2006 8:45 pm PT

    Vin Diesel was a better choice.

  • Seipher85

    Posted Dec 9, 2006 9:41 am PT

    I've always thought Jason Stratham should be hitman if they ever made a movie. just watch The Transporter.

  • datniccah187

    Posted Dec 9, 2006 4:24 am PT

    go vin!!!

  • datniccah187

    Posted Dec 9, 2006 4:23 am PT

    Vin diesel is the man, its nice that he's going to do videogames voiceovers as well as acting now.

  • wunder-boy

    Posted Dec 8, 2006 9:37 pm PT

    ok wtf! ive played hitman since the begining and if this guy in the movie isnt bald ill b pissed!

  • wunder-boy

    Posted Dec 8, 2006 9:37 pm PT

    ok wtf! ive played hitman since the begining and if this guy in the movie isnt bald ill b pissed!

  • Tommi88

    Posted Dec 8, 2006 9:03 pm PT

    he does so not fit the roll...gotdammit Jason Statham shud be in it!! i mean come on ...Olyphant :SS gratz they have just made the biggest mistake in their lives!

  • Pfilosophy

    Posted Dec 8, 2006 6:20 pm PT

    Honestly, Vin Diesel wouldn't have been so bad if people would sit down and think about what an actor can and cannot do and what the 47 role is all about. But whatever. I just wonder about Olyphant. I don't see it.

  • _AsasN_

    Posted Dec 8, 2006 2:28 pm PT

    I'm just glad it's not Vin Diesel. He went down on my list of good action celebs when he did XXX.

    If David Baetson can act (not just voice act) it should be him.

  • pblancaflor

    Posted Dec 7, 2006 10:22 pm PT

    [Could this message have been deleted at the request of a moderator or administrator?]

  • tornadoshank

    Posted Dec 7, 2006 9:50 pm PT

    They need ta get diesel back!! No one fits the description better even though he is a bit stronger than the game model, but who cares cause he'll be in a suit for like the whole movie...and another thing is that agent 47 dosent talk too much anyway so it dosent matter about the voice talent!!!

  • dylan111291

    Posted Dec 7, 2006 7:08 pm PT

    Here we go Conan O Brien would play the perfect role for agent 47 just look at his face and picture him bald.

    http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A9ibyGaC1nhF8joAYWijzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTBsdmIydTZhBHNlYwNwcm9mBHZ0aWQDSTAwMV83MA--/SIG=12e447nur/EXP=1165633538/**http%3a//centerclick.org/conan/pictures/misc/Picture1024.jpg

  • dylan111291

    Posted Dec 7, 2006 7:04 pm PT

    Im my opinion I think we need a more slightly mean looking person to play agent 47 and jason statham and timothy oylphant dont look anything like agent 47.

  • Bulldog19892

    Posted Dec 7, 2006 6:55 pm PT

    That guy could shave his head you know. But I have never heard of him.

  • XchaoticsX

    Posted Dec 7, 2006 6:18 pm PT

    statham all the damn way f*%k all the other p%&#ys

  • masterchief375

    Posted Dec 7, 2006 4:53 pm PT

    Jason Statham would be a way better Hitman than either one of those n00bz.

  • McDog3

    Posted Dec 7, 2006 1:53 pm PT

    Wow, what did all those people say??? VVV

  • Gamingcucumber

    Posted Dec 7, 2006 12:28 pm PT

    At least you guys gave the mods something to do...

  • vamroc

    Posted Dec 7, 2006 10:20 am PT

    They need to make a Max Payne movie and Jason Statham must play him. Hell he even looks like the guy drawn for the box art. Why isn't he the new James Bond. I always thought Christipher Eccelston should play agent 47. When he played Dr. Who you always thought at any moment he's just gonna walk up to Rose give her a columbian neck tie and then have a beer.

  • EikoAtoride

    Posted Dec 7, 2006 4:41 am PT

    I don't like Vin Diesel because the kids that try to imitate his characters from Triple X and tFatF simply suck. I also don't like his muscles (as I usually don't like muscular guys) and his head being bald (looks funny with a muscular guy). I may like Diesel's own character but I don't know him. But I'll never like his outer appearance.

    I would agree with Bruce Willis if he was 10 years younger.

    I won't see the movie, anyways. Too many video game movies have proven to be bad entertainment. Maybe because I expect too much from them.

  • Game-o_O

    Posted Dec 6, 2006 10:52 pm PT

    I'm not watching the hitman movie if Vin isn't in it. I've been waiting for him to be in a major movie & I was finally going to get my chance. Now it's gone, thanks alot 20th. Who watches deadwood anyways?

  • grey_fox1984

    Posted Dec 6, 2006 10:34 pm PT

    How the hell are you guys bringing up the fact that Timothy Olyphant isn't bald as a reason he shouldnt be cast...newsflash: IT"S NOT REALLY THAT HARD TO SHAVE YOUR HEAD!!! Think of all the movies in which they've give Bruce Willis hair and then try to tell me Olyphant can't play Agent 47 because he isn't bald. I think he's a fine actor who impressed in Scream 2 and Go and rocks in Deadwood. Jason Statham would have been the most obvious choice, but he was already in the Grand Theft Auto-clone movie "Crank"- which was decently entertaining, but horribly racist and sexist at almost every turn (and while he did a good job, the part reads like it was intended for a latino actor...."Chev Chelios" is a british dude, come on. Bottom line is, anyone who thinks that Agent 47 needs to be played by an actor that is actually bald, has no concept of what the important things to look for in casting are. You're the same people who think Topher Grace is gonna suck as Venom- open your minds a little dammit!!!!!

  • Hells_rebelion

    Posted Dec 6, 2006 9:46 pm PT

    Vin is a brilliant actor and I hope he ends up doing it (He looks a lot like him).....Although I know if they make a second one he wouldn't be in it (note Fast and the furious, XXX....so on)

  • rykh

    Posted Dec 6, 2006 6:50 pm PT

    Too bad Diesel would have fit the part nicely, all he is missing is the barcode.

  • Camper_On_Creat

    Posted Dec 6, 2006 6:20 pm PT

    I like Vin Diesel, but he was not good for the part. I dont know much about this knew guy, but atleast they are getting a guy who is the right race.

  • Scammeleon

    Posted Dec 6, 2006 5:39 pm PT

    Very well, for all those who beleive that Vin D should play coz he's bald; i say Patrick Steward should play the Hitman man!

    Or that bloke who was in james and the giant peach and the lost world

  • forhekset

    Posted Dec 6, 2006 5:33 pm PT

    Crap.

  • briph24

    Posted Dec 6, 2006 5:32 pm PT

    Timmy Olyphant was great in my favorite movie "The Girl Next Door"

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