Strong Island picks up Ken Bruen’s Inspector Brant franchise

Christopher Tuffin’s Strong Island has secured worldwide feature film and television rights to the Inspector Brant crime novel series from the estate of the late Irish author Ken Bruen, whose hard-bitten London detective was first brought to the screen by Jason Statham in the 2011 film ‘Blitz’.

Under the pact, Strong Island will develop a new cycle of Brant films, launching with adaptations of Bruen’s “Calibre” and “Vixen.” British writer-director Tom Edmunds (“Dead in a Week”) will write and direct both projects. Edmunds recently completed the historical action thriller “The Butler” for Strong Island, starring Jean Reno and Tom Hollander, with Molly McCann also on board. That film, set in 1920s London and produced by Tuffin, is currently in post-production.

Tuffin will produce Inspector Brant’s photos through Strong Island. At the same time, he is leading a busy schedule that includes the completed “Alphas” with Martin Henderson; a remake of the John Wayne western “Angel and the Badman”; “Last Meals,” which stars Mads Mikkelsen (“Another Round,” “The Promised Land”) and Boyd Holbrook (“Narcos,” “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny”); and “Princess,” starring Lucy Hale (“Pretty Little Liars,” “The Hating Game”). He also has a remake of “The Others” set up at Universal.

Tuffin’s previous releases include “Canary Black,” starring Kate Beckinsale (number one on Amazon Prime), “Freelance” with John Cena (number one on Hulu, number two on Netflix), “Peppermint” with Jennifer Garner (which opened at number two domestically before reaching number one on Netflix), and “Sound of Freedom,” which grossed $14 million on its first day and grossed over $250 million worldwide.

Joel Gotler represented the Bruen estate in association with the Philip Spitzer Agency and will executive produce alongside the late author’s estate. Jere Hausfater represented Strong Island.

A promo for “The Butler” will screen at the American Film Market on Nov. 11 at 11 a.m. at AMC Century City 13, with K5 Intl. handling the sale.