Is Leonardo DiCaprio's 'Satori' The Next 'Bourne' Franchise?

By Sterling Wong Is Leonardo DiCaprio the next big action star? The critically acclaimed actor has been known recently for more Oscar-baity fare like the upcoming J. Edgar, but it looks like the stars trying to shake things up. Hes signed up to work with Quentin Tarantino as the villain in Django Unchained, and now DiCaprio is set to kick some butt as the star of Satori, a film adaptation of Don Winslows bestselling novel. Set in the Cold War era of the 1950s, DiCaprio will play Nicholai Hel, a Westerner who grew up in Japan and becomes an expert in martial arts and Go, a Japanese chess game, reports Deadline. Hel is recruited by the CIA to assassinate a Soviet ambassador to China, but he is betrayed and has to run for his life as various intelligence agencies chase after him. Theres no memory loss involved, but were definitely seeing some distinct similarities between DiCaprios Hel and Matt Damons Jason Bourne, what with the CIA betrayal and Hel and Bournes hyper-intelligence. Like Bourne, "Satori" will have an international feel to it: besides having a history in Japan, the film will also see DiCaprios character making his way across Vietnam as hes chased by antagonists from America, China, Russia and France, among others. Indeed, if "Satori" turns out to be a hit, it's said that Warner Bros. hopes to develop it into a successful franchise much like the "Bourne" series. "Satori" will not be the first film adaptation of a Don Winslow property. The author has another book, Savages, in the big screen works. Directed by Oliver Stone, this movie features an ensemble cast that includes John Travolta, Salma Hayek, Blake Lively, Benicio Del Toro and Emile Hirsch. With a scheduled release date of September 28, 2012, Savages looks likely to hit theaters much earlier than Satori. Outside of "Satori," DiCaprio is currently busy filming Baz Luhrmanns The Great Gatsby and after that is completed, he will move on to Django Unchained, which is expected to keep him busy until spring 2012. So, it looks like action fans will have to be patient, and in the meantime, we can get our "Bourne" fix with the Jeremy Renner reboot, The Bourne Legacy, which will be released next year. What do you think of Leonardo DiCaprio as an action star? Tell us in the comments or on Twitter!

Watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 2010