If adapted right by David Self ("Road to Perdition"), "Mosiac" holds the promise of an agents and assassins-fueled thrill ride. The story follows a tormented U.S. spy named Michael Havelock. He loves fellow spy Jenna Karasova, who is executed after being uncovered as a KGB double agent. Haunted by the tragedy, Havelock abandons his life of espionage and tries to go civilian. Things are going fine until he encounters Jenna again while kicking around Europe. Cue the chase, explosions, action sequences and double crossing.

Clearly, Howard still has some of the action bug in his blood after adapting two Dan Brown novels, "The Da Vinci Code" and this summer's "Angels & Demons." He certainly has an eye for exotic European settings, and should enjoy helming an action movie that doesn't rely heavily on pondering works of Renaissance art.

No start date has been announced and Howard has a very full pre-production slate, so we might actually see "Bourne" return before this gets underway. Oh well. The more the merrier when it comes to these kinds of action-thrillers, right?

Is Ron Howard the right man to direct a Robert Ludlum novel? Would you prefer a more action-oriented director?