Spy Hunter flick targets July '07

Will moviegoers finally hear "the Peter Gunn Theme" in a local Cineplex? According to Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, they will by next summer.

The arcade classic Spy Hunter, which used the aforementioned tune to lure gamers into its tale of espionage and fast-driving cars, has long been in talks to get the big-screen treatment. In 2003, Universal Pictures bought the rights to make a film based on the game from Midway Games.

Little was heard about the film for months, until action director John Woo was tied to the film and scheduled for a 2005 release. Reports of Woo fleeing the project like a flock of doves (he has since been reattached) and 2005's passing without a single oil slick or smokescreen hitting theaters left many thinking the project was dead.

New (and likely more reliable) information on the movie has surfaced courtesy of Johnson, who has been pegged as the film's leading man since day one. Johnson, fresh off of starring in the big screen adaptation of Doom and lending his voice, likeness, and knowledge in hand-to-hand combat to Midway's upcoming Spy Hunter: Nowhere to Run game, revealed new Spy Hunter details to Yahoo! Games.

The former wrestling star has said that Stuart Beattie's (Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Collateral) script is complete, shooting begins later this year, and the film has been pegged for a July 2007 release.

"Spy Hunter will have great action. Some of the set pieces that were written are absolutely mind-blowing," said Johnson. Apparently, Universal has high hopes to turn Spy Hunter into a long-running franchise. However, The Rock believes that kind of success can't just rely on the brand.

"A lot of times the successful video game doesn't always equate to a successful movie," he said. "It all comes down to the writing..."

Spy Hunter: Nowhere to Run will be released on the PlayStation 2 and Xbox this September. For more information, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.