Sniper Elite movie to be directed by Rampage’s Brad Peyton

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Rampage director Brad Peyton is looking to remain in the realm of video-game movies as Variety has reported that he's attached to helm an adaptation of the stealth-shooter game franchise, Sniper Elite. Set during World War II, the video-game franchise has become famous for its X-Ray Kill Cam, a feature which follows the bullet in slow-motion from the rifle to the point of impact as it shows the damage done to organs and bones.

The Sniper Elite movie will follow elite Allied sniper Karl Fairburne as he engages in a "cat-and-mouse chase through the streets of London at the height of the Blitz during World War II, as he tries to save British Prime Minister Winston Churchill from a Nazi assassin." In addition to directing, Brad Peyton is also set to co-write the script with Gary Graham, and the movie is being described as thriller that combines Sherlock Holmes with The Bourne Identity.

Producer Jean-Julien Baronnet said that one of the more intriguing aspects of Karl Fairburne's story is that he's a German working for the Allies, and also teased the relationship between the two opposing snipers who have a "secret reason" that stops them from killing one another. "It’s a very, very character-oriented show, where our two snipers are linked by these intimate secrets," Baronnet said, adding that neither sniper is a cold-blooded killer. "The problem is that we love both snipers," Baronnet continued. "If you have a sniper that wants to execute his mission, but has human feelings, who has sensitivity, who is a professional but has to deal with his own humanity, that’s where it becomes interesting." Video-game movies typically don't have the best track record, but I'm a sucker for a good sniper movie, so count me in.