Ansel Elgort Snags The Lead In New Spy Drama

Actor Ansel Elgort has made a name for himself as one of Hollywoods most bankable young stars. He's already nailed the horror movie remakes as Tommy in Carrie, YA book adaptations as Gus in The Fault In Our Stars, and as Caleb in the Divergent series (alongside TFIOS costar and rising talent Shailene Woodley) and now he's adding another genre to his resume: super spy. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Elgort has just landed the lead in the spy thriller Code Name Veil. Inspired by real events, the film centers around a young CIA agent (Elgort) investigating attacks on the U.S Embassy in Beirut during the 1980s. Things escalate out of control when his supervisor is taken hostage, and he is left alone considering desperate measures to rescue them. Yeah, sounds good to me.

Michael Cuesta (Kill The Messenger) is slated to direct the feature, which does not have a slated release date. It's a smart move for Elgort as he transitions from teen heartthrob to big name movie star. This will be an entirely different genre for him to tackle, and, while some of his movies have had action elements, this will allow him to flex a different set of muscles. Plus, we already know he looks good in a suit, and can charm with the best of them. With any luck this new role will rank him among the sexiest movie spies that we've seen to date. I've gathered the hottest spies that he can take a page from below, ranked in no particular order because I just can't choose.

1. James Bond

Look, everyone has their preferred Bond, and I'm not one to play favorites, being the completely impartial journalist that I am — except Pierce Brosnan is the sexiest Bond hands down, chest hair and all. OK, OK, calm down. Connery, Moore, Craig, they're all fantastic because the Bond character is an international treasure, if a little controversial these days. But, no matter who is playing him, he's always suave and sophisticated, basically the golden standard for spies.

2. Austin Powers

Speaking of Bond and chest hair, what about the swinging '70s spy Austin Powers? The man who launched a thousand catch phrases has earned a place on this list after three movies and countless world-saving. Plus he's not totally bad looking... if you can get around the teeth.

3. Agent 99

What, you didn't think this was going to be a boys only club, did you? Agent 99 was the backbone of Get Smart, and was the only reason the team succeeded on any mission they attempted. It doesn't matter if it was Barbara Feldon in the '60s classic TV show, or Anne Hathaway kicking ass on the big screen — Agent 99 got it done, and looked damn good doing it.

4. Ethan Hunt

Of all of the spies on this list, Hunt may just be the most daring. Or maybe he just seemed more adventurous because Tom Cruise does all of his own (incredibly risky) stunts. Mission Impossible has had many different movies now, but, in all of them, Ethan Hunt is cool, calm, and ready to scale a building with his bare hands.

5. Black Widow

Our only entry from the MCU, Natasha Romanoff is a certified badass. She disappears into a character going undercover with ease, fights like the devil, and drives a motorcycle like a boss. Not only is she one of the few female Avengers, she keeps up with actual aliens and gods — with no superpowers needed. Plus, that flying kick? Amazing.

6. Jason Bourne

The man has killer reflexes, and literally could not stop being a spy even when he forgot he was an actual spy. Though Jeremy Renner tried his hand at taking over the Bourne franchise, this really needs Matt Damon's particular brand of hotness to succeed.

7. Bridget von Hammersmark

She's only got one movie to her name, but Diane Kruger was the ultimate spy in Inglorious Bastards, as an actress/double agent who used her fame to go deep in to enemy territory to stop the Nazis. She flirted, lied, and devised a plan to kill some very high ranking German officials, bringing new meaning to the word flawless.

8. Jack Ryan

Similar to Bond, this spy based off of the Tom Clancy novels has been played by many actors: Harrision Ford in Clear and Present Danger (among others), Alec Baldwin in The Hunt For Red October, Ben Affleck in The Sum of All Fears, and most recently Chris Pine in Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit. No matter who is playing him Ryan skillfully finds the bad guy, gets the girl, and saves the world. Elgort has a lot to learn from all these epic spies.

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