Capstone Acquires Film Rights To ‘Marc Dane’ Novel Series By James Swallow; Developing ‘Nomad’ As First Project

EXCLUSIVE: Capstone has acquired the feature film rights to New York Times bestselling author James Swallow’s series of Marc Dane spy thriller novels, setting his Sunday Times bestseller, Nomad, as the first title to be adapted for the big screen.

Published internationally by literary giant Bonnier in 2016, Nomad introduced audiences to Dane, an MI6 field agent at home behind a computer screen, one step away from the action. When a brutal attack on his team leaves Marc as the only survivor—and with the shocking knowledge that there are traitors inside MI6—he’s forced onto the front lines.

Nomad is being fast-tracked, with Capstone currently out to writers for the screenplay adaption. Christian Mercuri and Head of Production Joe Gatta will produce for Capstone, alongside David Haring (The Guilty, Bill & Ted Face the Music). In addition to Nomad, the Marc Dane series features novels including Exile, Ghost, Rough Air, Shadow, Rogue and Outlaw. Books in the series have topped multiple bestseller lists, including at The Irish Times and Amazon, and received multiple nominations for the Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize.

“I had a very specific creative vision when I wrote the Marc Dane series. The enormously talented team at Capstone understand and share this desire to bring a relatable, everyman action hero to the big screen, and are the perfect partner for these high-tech, high-octane thrillers,” said Swallow. “The stories, with their breakneck pace and beautiful locations, really lend themselves to feature film adaptation – they will be unstoppable in the visual medium.”

“Everyone at Capstone is excited to start building a feature film franchise based on James Swallow’s bestselling book series,” said Gatta. “Producing these films from the beloved IP gives us the ability to launch a highly commercial, mainstream studio franchise that serves not only the legions of established fans of the Marc Dane stories but brings in new fans to explore this dynamic genre.”

“Very excited to see this riveting spy series hit the screen,” added Haring. “Nomad is a taut, fast paced thriller with more twists and turns than the Formula One circuit in Monaco.”

Swallow is the BAFTA-nominated writer of more than 55 novels, as well as scripts for radio, television and interactive media. He has written for major intellectual properties, including 24, Tom Clancy, Star Trek and Marvel, among others, and lives in London, where he is currently writing his next novel.

Capstone Global and Capstone Studios are an independent financing, production and worldwide sales company established in 2017.  Capstone recently wrapped production on the spy thriller Kandahar starring Gerard Butler, and is currently in production on Silent Night, the first U.S. action film in decades to be directed by the iconic Chinese filmmaker John Woo, which stars Joel Kinnaman. It’s also financing writer-director Dean Craig’s The Estate starring Toni Collette and Anna Faris, which is currently in production.

Gatta negotiated the Marc Dane deal on behalf of Capstone, with United Agents’ Jennifer Thomas on behalf of Swallow.