Padilha directing Ludlum's 'Protocol'

Brazilian filmmaker Jose Padilha has been hired to direct espionage thriller The Sigma Protocol for Universal.

The movie, based on the last completed novel from Jason Bourne creator Robert Ludlum, centres on a Wall Street economist who becomes a target for assassination. With the help of a disowned US intelligence agent, he uncovers a conspiracy to control the global financial system and world events.

Iron Man writers Art Marcum and Matt Holloway have penned the adaptation, bringing events from the novel's World War II setting into the present day.

Padilha's recent film Elite Squad won the prestigious Golden Bear prize at last year's Berlin International Film Festival. He is also attached to Warner Bros's The Willing Patriot and drug drama Marching Powder.