Sister company Simon & Schuster/Atria Books, which in the fall published the most recent series installment, "Protect and Defend," has extended its relationship with Flynn by acquiring worldwide publishing rights to his next four novels, including translation and audio.

Flynn has so far written nine novels, eight about the fictional Rapp, who possesses the ruthlessness and killing skills of Jason Bourne and the sleuthing talents of Jack Ryan.

Flynn began the Rapp novels in 2000 with "Transfer of Power," in which the agent was assigned to stop Islamic terrorists who took control of the White House. In "Protect and Defend," Rapp and his longtime boss get ambushed in Iraq, and he becomes a killing machine to rescue his mentor before she is tortured.

The studio and producers haven't decided yet which novel to use as the basis for the first film. Most involve Rapp defusing a global crisis in places like Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq or the U.S.