Colin Firth will turn secret agent in Matthew Vaughn's 'The Secret Service'

Colin Firth, super spy? While the actor's distinguished career has seen him tackle many diverse roles, one thing Firth has never been considered is much of an action hero. It's not that he's incapable, and certainly he's always had a certain 007 aura about him, which we caught a small taste of in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. But Firth is now set to headline his own action franchise from the author of Kick-Ass and Wanted.

Firth is set to star in The Secret Service, an adaptation of Mark Millar's comic about a James Bond-esque spy who, in the midst of the biggest mission of his career, must also train up his street punk nephew in the ways of MI6. The film will see Millar re-teaming with Kick-Ass director Matthew Vaughn, who will co-write the script with Jane Goldman. Vaughn had been mulling over a couple of Millar adaptations before deciding to move forward with this one, even leaving behind the directing job on X-men: Days of Future Past to do it.

For Firth it's another bold move and potentially a total reinvention similar to what Taken achieved for Liam Neeson. He'll be seen this year in two potential Oscar contenders: The Railway Man and Devil's Knot. Filming on The Secret Service gets underway in August for release on November 14th 2014. [Latino Review]