Although he's no longer involved in the series, Australian filmmaker Phillip Noyce, who directed Jack Ryan films Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger, tells Moviehole that he's heard that the wheels are in motion to put C.I.A agent Ryan back on the big screen. But no, he won't be involved and by the sounds of it, neither will the man who invented the popular literary character.

Apparently there's a legal loophole that enables the studio to make a film based on the character - without getting Clancy's input.

According to Noyce, Paramount is looking to re-launch the Jack Ryan film series that began with 1990's The Hunt for Red October ... only this time, the film would not be based on one of Tom Clancy's books.

The studio has the right to make a film based on the character but not John Clark, a character that appears in his own set of Clancy novels without the permission of author, and so they're going to come up with their own story for a new Ryan movie.

Originally, Paramount planned on using Clancy's Red Rabbit for the next Ryan movie, even attaching Ben Affleck to the film. However, when The Sum of All Fears, starring Affleck, faired poorly at the box-office, they ditched the idea of a young Jack Ryan series and of the young actor carrying on with the role. It is assumed this new Ryan movie will feature a new lead.

Clancy is still involved in the film versions of Splinter Cell, Without Remorse and Rainbow Six.