French director Pierre Morel has been tapped by Universal to helm an action-thriller they're developing called "Pursuit".  With the success of "Taken" Morel became one of the only directors to helm a profitable film in the "action-thriller" genre this year - making him a smart choice for any studio that likes big profits and moderate budgets.  More after the jump...

According to Variety "Pursuit" will be based on the life of Jason Howe, a British photojournalist who has worked in Iraq, Afghanistan, Burma, Thailand and various other tranquil destination spots.  Oh yeah, and he also fell in love with a woman while on assignment in Columbia.  It could happen to anyone, except the woman in question turned out to be an assassin.

The studio has acquired Howe's life-rights and is currently looking for a writer who can turn this run-of-the-mill story into an interesting screenplay.

Meanwhile, Morel and his "Taken" co-writer/producer Luc Besson are said to be "taking their time" with a sequel to their surprise hit - though, to me, the second act is obvious: the annoying daughter must die.