Chris Pine

IS READY TO MAKE A STEAL…

When Quentin Tarantino stanned Chris Pine earlier this year, he raised eyebrows with one argument. “I think a case can be made that Pine hasn’t taken the next big leap from Unstoppable,” said Tarantino, singing the praises of Tony Scott’s 2010 runaway-train thriller. Fans of Star Trek, Hell Or High Water, Wonder Woman and other peak Pines may disagree, but Tarantino can take solace from this: the star’s incoming slate makes a strong case that more big leaps beckon.

Wonder Woman 1984 aside, Pine will work for actor-turned-director Olivia Wilde (Booksmart) in Don’t Worry, Darling, a psychological thriller costarring Florence Pugh, Shia LaBeouf and Wilde. And if a lead is a must – as Tarantino implies – then hot talk of Pine’s casting as source author Leslie Charteris’ buccaneering thief-for-hire Simon Templar in Dexter Fletcher’s reboot of The Saint should please.

Alongside incoming roles in bio-drama Newsflash (as legendary broadcast journo Walter Cronkite) and Tarik Saleh (The Nile Hilton Incident) thriller Violence Of Action, these outings appear well-tailored to Pine’s pitch. After bit-parts ranging from The Princess Diaries 2 to Joe Carnahan’s Smokin’ Aces, Pine took the breakthrough bridge with muscle and roguish charm in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek. Elsewhere, he has tackled comedy (Horrible Bosses 2), directordriven character drama (David Mackenzie’s Hell Or High Water), retro-noir (I Am The Night), musicals (Into The Woods) and franchises (Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit) with intelligent indie chops and unruffled movie-star charisma: witness his side-parting amid gale-force winds in The Finest Hours for immovable proof of the latter.

A liking for explorations of gender and directors with vision should sit well with Wilde and Saleh’s projects. Meanwhile, the cheeky swagger Pine brought to an old IP in Trek should get a good workout from Rocketman director Fletcher and his Saint, a flamboyant, Robin Hood-like figure previously played by stars including Roger Moore (famously) and Val Kilmer (forgettably). “I want to work with the people who will allow me the freedom to explore, try and fail,” Pine has said. “That’s where the excitement is for me, not in playing safely within the boundaries.”

Sound good, Quentin? KH

ETA | 14 AUGUST / WONDER WOMAN 1984 OPENS THIS SUMMER. THE SAINT, VIOLENCE OF ACTION AND NEWSFLASH ARE IN PRE-PRODUCTION.