Summit Entertainment has picked up U.S. rights to I, Alex Cross, starring Tyler Perry and directed by Rob Cohen.

The film is being developed as an origin tale of James Patterson's iconic detective/psychologist character made famous by Morgan Freeman in movies such as Kiss the Girls and Along Came A Spider.

James Patterson and Kerry Williamson penned the first draft of the script with Marc Moss revising.

Production is expected to start later this year with no release date set.