The Dark Knight star Aaron Eckhart has signed on to lead the upcoming Spy thriller Chief of Station, according to a Deadline report. Eckhart will be replacing Alec Baldwin in the lead role of a former CIA agent who comes out of retirement to avenge the death of his wife. Filming is scheduled to begin next month in Budapest.
Chief of Station will now star Eckhart as the former CIA Station Chief who discovers that his wife’s death was not an accident. In his search for the truth, he is forced to return to the world of espionage and “unravel a conspiracy that challenges everything he thought he knew”. Eckhart will join Alex Pettyfer (Magic Mike), who will play Eckhart’s protégé, and Olga Kurylenko (Black Widow), who will play a rogue agent.
Eckhart is a great choice to take over the lead role in Chief of Station as he is no stranger to action movies, starring in Olympus Has Fallen, and its sequel London Has Fallen. However, he is likely best known for playing the Batman villain Harvey Dent/Two-Face in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, as well as his roles in comedies like Thank You For Smoking and dramas like Sully. The actor recently gained a lot of acclaim for playing former United States President Gerald Ford in Showtime’s The First Lady.
Chief of Station will be directed by Jesse V. Johnson, a veteran of the action genre. Johnson has previously directed high-adrenaline action movies such as The Debt Collector, Triple Threat, and Savage Dog. He has also previously worked with ionic action stars like Iko Uwais, Tony Jaa, and Michael Jai White. About Eckhart signing on for the film, Johnson said:
“I am thrilled to collaborate with Aaron… he had me at, Thank You for Smoking! He’s just such an ideal fit for a role that will test his prowess on so many levels. Hold on tight as he dazzles audiences, becoming a juggernaut in this layered and fast paced spy thriller.”
Chief of Station producer Steve Jones of Bee Holder Productions added:
“Aaron has the presence, physicality and depth that made him the perfect fit to take on this wise and calculating character, who ran all CIA operations in Eastern Europe. When he learns his wife was a pawn in the game, his wrath will create hellfire.”
Stay tuned to Collider for any future updates on this upcoming project. Check out a trailer for a previous action movie starring Eckhart, London Has Fallen, below: