Last June we found out that 20th Century Fox had found a new writer in Kyle Ward to begin work on Hitman 2, the sequel to their 2007 adaptation of the popular video game franchise of the same name.

As it often seems to go these days, Fox has decided to go in a new direction, and it may not be the direction that fans were hoping for.

The studio has brought in Daniel Benmayor to direct the sequel, and scribe Daniel Casey to write it. This shows that the studio isn’t looking to spend a ton of money on this project, and are hoping they’ll get lucky with relatively no-name talents. And while this is a terrible sign for fans who have been impatiently waiting another movie, there is a still a small amount of hope.

Benmayor is a complete wild card. He has one really small horror movie called Paintball, and another movie in post-production titled Bruc. Neither will really tell us what he can do, and though Fox doesn’t appear to want to spend a lot of money, he’ll surely get more than he’s ever had to play with before. Pray to whomever you pray to that he’s a hidden treasure.

In Casey’s case, he also has very little recognizable experience, but is also something of a journeyman. He’s done writing, directing, acting, producing, editing, and cinematography work so far. His most notable credit so far may have come with 2007 Grand Jury prize winner of the Slamdance Film Festival, The Death of Michael Smith, but it may be what hasn’t been made that will give you hope. Casey wrote a script for a movie called Jimmy Six, which was selected to last year’s Black List, which names all of the very best screenplays that go un-produced.

The big question may always be whether these two can deliver a great movie or not, but right up there with that remains whether star Timothy Olyphant will return or not. With Fox obviously downgrading their crew and budget, can we assume that they’ll do so with the star as well, or are they just saving money so they can afford him?

I’ve said it before and I’ll happily say again: as a huge fan of the games, I was incredibly disappointed in the movie, and am actually kind of hoping for the recasting of Agent 47 in this second Hitman turn…if it ever actually happens. I love Olyphant in most of the movies I’ve seen him in, but he just did not do it for me in this role, which requires a very specific looking and sounding figure. As many have said, Jason Statham is about the only actor that we’re aware of that best fits the look, but unless he has some sort of hidden accent-adjusting talent we’re not aware of, that won’t work either. This leaves all hope in them finding an unknown actor to step in, which would be fine with I.

Is the hiring of this writer and director disheartening to you? Who do you want to see step in as Agent 47?

[Source: Heat Vision]