Olyphant Takes Hitman Away from Diesel

Last we heard from the Hitman camp (Cinematical Super Tip: Hitman is a successful video game that's being turned into a movie -- imagine that one??), Latino Review had given us a tasty script review based off a version written by Skip Woods (the man responsible for the dismal 2001 pic Swordfish -- which, mind you, was his last produced screenplay.). According to them, the script rocked -- but a lot of folks were concerned about Vin Diesel's casting in the main role. Well, fans of Hitman and Diesel protestors can put down the "Stop Vin Diesel From Playing Agent 47" petition as AICN reports that he's been replaced by Timothy Olyphant. Deadwood! Hooray!

Olyphant is currently starring as the villain in Live Free or Die Hard (aka Die Hard 4) and probably looks better than Diesel would all macked out in that classic Hitman suit. We're not sure why Diesel dropped out (or if he was canned), but does it really matter? The dude is gone, and most of you should be happy about that. Oh, and the news keeps getting better -- apparently, Luc Besson has hopped onboard as producer, and the film could be in theaters as early as next fall ... even though a director still hasn't been announced. C'mon Besson -- screw Arthur and His Invisible Fairytale 2, why not step out of retirement for something that really kicks ass?

Though I have Hitman stuffed somewhere in my dated video game collection, I still haven't played it -- which means I'll need those that have to chime in and tell us whether you feel Olyphant is a better choice over Diesel.