You read the vague implication of that headline just right: Paramount are going to make a cinematic Tom Clancy universe, and Kevin Costner will be their Nick Fury. In following up what we heard two weeks ago, Deadline tells us the actor is set to appear in Kenneth Branagh‘s Jack Ryan reboot, then play the same character in Christopher McQuarrie‘s own adaptation, Without Remorse. After that, he might even get his own film.

Not as Nick Fury, I mean. Costner is actually signed to play William Harper, described as being “a true blue American idealist who recruits and mentors both Ryan and John Kelly,” the latter of whom becomes “John Clark” by Remorse‘s conclusion. (It goes without saying he would also be the center of a series, right? Right.) The studio is currently eyeing Tom Hardy for that part, which is a plenty great choice and all — except, the guy who everyone wants a piece of isn’t so easy to obtain. You can’t just grow him on a tree.

Well, this news makes me happy in quite a few ways. First off, Costner getting his own action movie is pretty great — I rewatched JFK last night, coincidentally, and was duly reminded what a terrific performance he’s capable of — and, even better, we’ve got a little universe of spy movies waiting to kick off. It’s obvious Paramount is copying the template they helped establish years ago with Marvel, but who cares? This is precisely the kind of thing you’d employ a multi-level storytelling model to; it doesn’t hurt that spies are far more in line with my own interests than superheroes, either.

With Chris Pine playing Jack Ryan, we could even get a This Means War reunion in the eventual team-up. With McG directing!

What are your thoughts on this approach? Are Costner and Hardy good choices to join Pine?