AceShowbiz -

Kenneth Branagh might not return to direct "Thor 2" for Paramount Pictures, but the filmmaker is currently entering a negotiation with the studio to helm its on-and-off "Jack Ryan" movie project. Vulture has learned that the actor-turned-director is one step closer to replace Jack Bender, who recently bailed out of the long-gestating project due to scheduling conflict.

The yet-to-be-titled movie has long been put on a hold reportedly due to creative differences between Paramount execs, lead actor Chris Pine and producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura. Before exiting the project, Bender was said to be tired of the endless disagreements between the three parties over the direction of the film.

Words are, Pine wanted to make it a "character-driven espionage movie", while di Bonaventura wanted it to be simply an action film. On the other hand, Paramount execs wanted to develop a thriller. An insider said that screenwriter David Koepp had been working hard to combine all those idea. Before Koepp, scribes like Anthony Peckham ("Invictus") and Adam Cozad ("The Gray Man") were all hired to pen the script, but failed.

The untitled Jack Ryan project is an adaptation of Tom Clancy's famous novel series, which follow Ryan in his 20s when he came out of the Marines to work in the finance world. After Bender left the project, the direction and plot details of the upcoming film remain unclear.

Branagh, meanwhile, most recently directed "Thor". He is also set to helm "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society", which stars Kate Winslet, for 20th Century Fox.