Well, we all knew official word was coming eventually (even though the man has been hush hush about his involvement as of late) and, as expected, Timothy Olyphant has replaced Vin Diesel in the role of Agent 47 for 20th Century Fox's planned video game adaptation Hitman. If all goes well (and how many of these video game flicks actually do go well?), there's a possibility Hitman will turn into a franchise and churn out a few more flicks. In fact, Olyphant's deal does allow for sequels -- so he's all set. But are we?

If you're one of the unfortunate who never found the time to check out HBO's Deadwood, then there's a good chance you're not that familiar with Olyphant's work. Yes, he's starred in a number of films (Rock Star, The Safety of Objects, The Girl Next Door and A Man Apart to name a few), but up until recently he's managed to fly pretty low beneath the radar. Personally, I've always loved him as the Santa hat-wearing drug dealer with anger issues in Go -- but, who didn't love him in that film? He can currently be seen in the upcoming Catch and Release, but we'll definitely get a mouthful of edgy from Olyphant when he takes on the role of villain in this summer's Live Free or Die Hard.

As far as Hitman goes, Skip Woods (whose last masterpiece was, ahem, Swordfish) penned the script and Xavier Gens will direct. Folks seem to really dig the video game and its many sequels -- I have one of them (possibly the first), but never sat down to actually play it. Apparently, Olyphant will play a "genetically engineered assassin" with a shaved head and sweet-looking suit. What say you Hitman lovers?