Director Walter Hill replaces Mickey Rourke with Pierce Brosnan

Back when Mickey Rourke first started getting a career rebirth thanks to THE WRESTLER, he was attaching himself to almost every project that came along. One of them was the indie crime thriller ST. VINCENT, which would reunite him with his JOHNNY HANDSOME director Walter Hill.

The project fell apart, but Hill is reassembling it with a new cast. Now stepping in for Rourke is Pierce Brosnan playing Vincent Novena, a hitman who goes deep undercover masquerading as a priest to get close enough to kill his gangland traitor target. He soon discovers that playing the part of a good man is more dangerous than being a mob killer ever was.

Bily Bob Thornton will play the guy in the crosshairs. Maria Bello and Giovanni Ribisi are also on the project. (The first time around, the movie had Ray Winstone, Gong Li and Forest Whitaker.)

Hill is a Hollywood veteran known for such macho classics like 48 HRS., THE WARRIORS, SOUTHERN COMFORT, EXTREME PREJUDICE and WILD BILL.