Tyler Perry will be the next actor to play in
I, Alex Cross a well-liked fictional character crafted by writer
James Patterson and made famous by
Morgan Freeman in two movies.
The character, created in James Patterson's crime novels, has been celebrated on the big screen by Morgan Freeman, who performed the role in
Kiss the Girls (1997) and
Along Came a Spider (2001) based on Patterson's first novel in 1993. In this novel which was first published last year, a member of Alex's family is killed and the case throws Alex into a very dangerous world of power and evil which results a shocking revelation.
Perry works as a writer and director, and even more a producer best known for films focusing on his offensive senior citizen character,
Madea. In 2005 Perry released a film called
Diary of a Mad Black Woman and, most recently
For Colored Girls. This will be the first time Tyler Perry stars in a major project he didn't write himself. Actually, his only big-screen coming as an actor in a film that he didn't write was in a small role in
J.J. Abram‘s
Star Trek. The role was initially being developed for the British actor
Idris Elba (
The Wire) to star.
Rob Cohen (
The Fast and the Furious) is to direct the new film for which the production company QED will be selling the worldwide distribution rights at the approaching European Film Market in Berlin.
Patterson and
Kerry Williamson implemented a draft of the script, which
Marc Moss was hired to finish.
Shooting on the movie is set to begin in June and no release date has yet been revealed.