007 scribes Neal Purvis and Robert Wade hired to write a new international action thriller

James Bond might be temporarily MIA for the foreseeable future, but CASINO ROYALE and QUANTUM OF SOLACE screenwriters Neal Purvis and Robert Wade seem to be truckin’ along just fine.

According to THR’s Risky Business blog, the duo have been hired to write an original action-thriller based on a concept by producers Michael Lieber (FLASH OF GENIUS, JOE GOULD’S SECRET) and Walter Parkes (MEN IN BLACK III, DINNER FOR SCHMUCKS). Here’s Risky Business with the deets:

The story takes place among the nomadic Taureg tribes of West Africa, an area rich with uranium that has become a focal point for both energy companies and terrorist states. An American anthropologist is thrust Into this geopolitical mess when he must travel back to the Sahara to help a former research subject who has been accused of a terrorist attack.

Producer Walter Parkes adds: “At its heart, this is an action movie set within a world that is morally complex, alluring and completely real — which is why Robert and Neal, whose work spans James Bond to John Le Carre, are uniquely suited to bring a project like this to life.”