According to Deadline, Chris Pratt is reportedly in “early negotiations†to star as international cat burglar and (more importantly) master of disguise Simon Templar in Paramount’s The Saint reboot. We don’t want to get our hopes up about how he’s going to play the character, but if we’re right, someone needs to give that wig master as much time as humanly possible to get ready.
Based on Leslie Charteris’ thriller tales, first published in 1928 and spanning decades, The Saint has been interpreted into dozens of projects, including numerous films beginning with 1938’s The Saint In New York. Roger Moore also starred in a TV adaptation of The Saint from 1962 to 1969 in the United Kingdom.
Rakish and, well, if not wise-cracking, at least bemused, The Saint’s Simon Templar is typically written as sort of a cross between Bond and Robin Hood, with way more lewks, which he of course uses conceal his identity. As such, Val Kilmer’s 1997 movie version of The Saint was very much an actor’s action movie. Gunplay, but also plenty of character work. It might not be the best path to building a franchise-able character in 2018, but at the very least, let us please pay homage to Kilmer’s Templar and his extremely good disguises below.