If Robert Downey Jr. has taught us anything, it's that no actor should be trapped by just one franchise.  An actor can be the star of any series that will likely require a three-picture deal and that doesn't mean they won't get to do any smaller projects.  Through the magic of cloning, any actor can be in at least three or four major movies every year.  Chris Pine has apparently discovered this cloning as he is in talks to star in Paramount's attempt to once again reboot Tom Clancy's "Jack Ryan" franchise.  Hit the jump to boldly go where no one has gone before AND save America from freedom-haters.

The "Jack Ryan" franchise is potentially lucrative but difficult franchise since it lacks an over-arching story and really wants to be more of the American James Bond except less cool and more patriotic which in the books of Tom Clancy usually means jingoistic.  Compound this with the fact that we now have an American 007 with Jason Bourne and everyone wants to copy that character.  But Chris Pine is hot, Paramount already has a relationship with him through "Star Trek", and Pine looks like he loves America so he's in talks with the studio to be Jack Ryan #4 after Alec Baldwin ("The Hunt for Red October"), Harrison Ford ("Patriot Games", "Clear and Present Danger"), and Ben Affleck ("The Sum of All Fears").

Pine is currently co-starring with Denzel Washington in Tony Scott's train-conductor action flick, "Unstoppable" and is in negotiations to star in D.J. Caruso's "The Art of Making Money" about a notorious counterfeiter.  Oh, and there's also the sequel to "Star Trek" so I think I have a pretty solid case to back up my claims of cloning popular actors.

[Variety]