Tradecraft: Pierce Brosnan Returns to Spying in The Coup

Deadline reports that former 007 Pierce Brosnan has joined the cast of The Coup, an intense action thriller in the vein of Taken in which an American family living in Southeast Asia find themselves embroiled in a violent coup as rebels take control of the city. Owen Wilson plays the dad who struggles to get his family to safety. Brosnan will play what the trade blog describes as "a mysterious government operative." Cool! I like it when Brosnan plays government operatives--and not just as James Bond. His best role to date (closely followed by The Matador) was as a far sleazier secret agent in The Tailor of Panama. Still, this sounds like a supporting part. I wish someone would cast Brosnan as the lead in a Taken-style mid-budget actioner. It would be nice to see him get the kind of career boost that film gave his countryman Liam Neeson. Until that happens, however, this will do nicely! According to Deadline, "Devil helmer John Erick Dowdle will direct [The Coup] from a script he co-wrote with his brother Drew Dowdle." Filming begins in October for Crime Scene Pictures, the company behind the upcoming remakes of Gambit and Suspiria.