With Paramount setting a release date for the upcoming reboot and hopeful launch of a big spy franchise Jack Ryan, production has begun to bring the character who has seen action in both novels and the big screen back on the big screen. As an intriguing cast lines up for next year’s thriller, the buzz around the film has been slowly building while fans of Tom Clancy are ready to see the massive literary character return in a new incarnation after a decade long absence. Now, Paramount has decided to keep the hype going as they have released the first official photo of actor Chris Pine as the CIA hero.

The story is described as being a prequel that details just how Ryan became a CIA analyst, with the event of a helicopter crash being the starting moment as an entire Marine platoon is wiped out featuring a 23-year-old Ryan as the only surviving member. Knightley will star as Ryan’s wife, while Kenneth Branagh will also play the film’s villain. Kevin Costner has signed on for the role of William Harper, a CIA mentor not only for Jack Ryan but fellow Tom Clancy spy John Clark.

Harper will appear in Jack Ryan while the studio is also planning a spin-off that will introduce Clark called Without Remorse. Harper will act as the bridge between both possible trilogies with the hopes that perhaps Ryan and Clark will cross paths in the years to come.

Jack Ryan is current scheduled to hit theaters on December 25th, 2013.

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