Shane Black to Adapt ‘The Executioner’ Book Series for Sony
Sony Pictures has secured the rights to adapt Don Pendleton’s long-running The Executioner book series, enlisting Shane Black to write and direct a “testosterone-fueled” adaptation. The move reunites Black with veteran action producer Joel Silver, according to announcements made Tuesday.
The deal consolidates screen rights to the 464-book series – originally authored by Pendleton and later continued by ghostwriters – under one studio for the first time in decades. The Executioner follows Mack Bolan, a former sniper who wages a one-man war against organized crime, terrorist groups, and other adversaries. The series, which ran from 1969 until Pendleton’s death in 1995 and continued afterward, sold hundreds of millions of copies worldwide and spawned spin-off publications, a magazine, and comic books.
Black will collaborate with frequent writing partners Anthony Bagarozzi and Charles Mondry on the script. Silver will produce alongside Don Murphy and Susan Montford of Angry Films, who have been navigating the complex rights landscape of Pendleton’s work for several years.
Previous attempts to bring Bolan to the big screen involved a range of stars, and filmmakers. Sylvester Stallone was once attached to a project directed by William Friedkin, while Burt Reynolds and Steve McQueen were likewise considered for the role at various points. More recently, screenwriter Shane Salerno pursued an adaptation at Warner Bros. In 2014 with Bradley Cooper attached, but that effort stalled due to incomplete rights ownership, with Sony holding domestic screen rights.
The current arrangement with Sony is described as a “full circle moment” for Silver, who previously attempted to develop an Executioner film in the early 1990s. Black, known for his affinity for pulp fiction, is reportedly a long-time fan of the Bolan stories. The pair previously collaborated on action films including Lethal Weapon, The Last Boy Scout, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, and The Nice Guys. Their most recent collaboration, Play Dirty, was released directly to streaming on Prime Video after receiving mixed reviews and undergoing significant creative changes, including a lead actor replacement from Robert Downey Jr. To Mark Wahlberg.
Bagarozzi and Mondry have also worked with Black on several projects, including co-writing Nice Guys and Dirty Money. They also co-wrote the 2023 reboot of Road House, which Silver produced. Murphy and Montford’s Angry Films are currently developing live-action adaptations of the horror video game Poppy Playtime and the classic pulp hero Buck Rogers with Legendary Entertainment, alongside the upcoming horror film Faces of Death.
Pendleton’s estate is represented by Joel Gotler at Intellectual Property Group, which also represents authors Jeffrey Archer, James Ellroy, and Michael Connelly. Black is represented by WME, Greenlit Management and Goodman Genow, as are Bagarozzi and Mondry.