Jack Ryan's Origins Explored In Adaptation Of Tom Clancy's 'Shadow Recruit' [Trailer + Pictures]

The trailer for Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit has been released; the first film in the series to bear simply the name of the character that has sewn all previous released together. The film takes on another level of pertinence as celebrated author Tom Clancy – the creator of the Ryan adventures – passed away on October 1st, three days ago.

In Playing Jack Ryan, Star Trek’s Chris Pine follows in the footsteps of Alec Baldwin (The Hunt for Red October) Harrison Ford (Patriot Games/Clear and Present Danger) and Ben Affleck (The Sum of All Fears). Billed as a sort of origins story, Pine has to adopt the high-profile actors that have played the role before him, but effectively see them off in his own, unique performance as the freshly minted CIA analyst.

Watch the trailer for Jack Ryan here

Based on a screenplay by Adam Cozad, David Koepp, Anthony Peckham, and Steven Zaillian, the film follows a young Jack Ryan as he moves from a career in the Marine Corps to working as a financial consultant to a Russia billionaire. Little did he know, they’re framing him for an international terrorist plot.

The story sees him unexpectedly in the crosshairs of an assassin while he’s uncovering a plot involving Russian terrorists. They’re launching a major terrorist strike at the key European locations with a view to damaging – if not destroying – the U.S economy. Ryan has to travel to Moscow to halt the conspiracy in its tracks, but it’s not just the Russians that are in on the game.

The film is directed by Kenneth Branagh, who also enjoys a turn as a Russian criminal, while the rest of the cast is assembled of Keira Knightley, Kevin Costner, Colm Feore, Gemma Chan,Nonso Anozie, Karen David, David Paymer and Lee Nicholas Harris.

Clancy died on Tuesday, Oct 1st after a brief illness. He was remembered as "a master of his craft" by Tom Weldon, chief executive of Penguin Random House UK. "Tom Clancy changed readers' expectations of what a thriller could do," he said. "He will be greatly missed by millions of fans in the UK and around the world."

As well as creating the Jack Ryan series, he was responsible for some of the finest videogames of a generation, creating the Rainbow Six franchise, which formed multiple games over a plethora of generations and devices. In 1984, with 'The Hunt for Red October, Clancy would establish himself and launch Jack Ryan simultaneously. Film adaptations would inevitably follow.