Source: Variety

It has been confirmed that Chris Pine, who played Captain James T. Kirk in the Star Trek reboot earlier this year, is in talks to star as another famous franchise character: Tom Clancy's CIA analyst Jack Ryan. The role has previously been inhabited by Alec Baldwin in The Hunt for Red October, then by Harrison Ford in Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger, and most recently by Ben Affleck in 2002's The Sum of All Fears. Pine and Paramount are in the earlier stages of negotiations, so no full, titled project has begun rolling, but Pine is expected to board the film as it does.

Pine could be the kick in the pants this tired franchise needs, much like he and the rest of the cast did for Star Trek—the $383 million Star Trek scored at the box office worldwide easily speaks for itself.

Next year will find the quickly-rising Pine in Tony Scott's Unstoppable alongside Denzel Washington, and he is also in talks for D.J. Caruso's The Art of Making Money.