Universal Pictures is set to develop a big screen adaptation of the spy thriller novel The Right Hand with producer Scott Stuber. The book was written by Derek Haas, and he will adapt it into a screenplay with his screenwriting partner Michael Brandt. They've worked together on a couple of other films in the past such as Wanted and 3:10 To Yuma.
The story focuses on a character named Austin Clay, "a spy whose work is so covert that the government won’t even admit he exists. And yet he executes necessary missions. Here, he is sent to track down a missing American operative, who was captured in the Russian countryside. This leads Clay into a conspiracy that involves a mole that has penetrated the top levels of U.S. government."
Sounds like it could be a solid film project. Haas had this to say about it in a statement,
I’m thrilled The Right Hand is in the hands of Scott Stuber and Universal, with whom Michael and I have had incredible movie experiences. We love that after readers get a chance to discover this spy thriller in November, we’ll get to bring it to the screen ourselves.
Here's a more detailed description of the story from the book, and below that you will find a trailer. Check it out and let us know what one of your favorite spy thiller movies is!
Meet Austin Clay, the CIA's best-kept secret.
There has always been a need in the spy game for operations outside the realm of legality-covert missions so black no one in the American government, and almost no one in intelligence itself, is aware of their existence. The left hand can't know what the right hand is doing.
Austin Clay is that right hand, executing missions that would be disavowed by his own government were he ever to be compromised. His team consists of only his trusted handler and himself. His missions are among the most important and dangerous in U.S. history.
Clay is sent to track down a missing American operative, a man who was captured outside of Moscow, in the Russian countryside. Soon he discovers the missing officer is only the beginning of the mission, and finds himself protecting a desperate woman who believes a mole has penetrated the top levels of the U.S. government, throwing the international balance of power into jeopardy.
With blistering pace, international intrigue, and a high-stakes plot that spans continents, THE RIGHT HAND introduces a new hero, from the novelist whose work the New York Times Book Review has proclaimed "devastatingly cool."