TV Article The Saint may live again at Paramount Studio buys rights to long-running Leslie Charteris book series By Evan Slead Published on June 17, 2016 12:00PM EDT Photo: Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images Paramount may be developing a new movie franchise out of The Saint, the Leslie Charteris book series that spawned a TV series and film, EW has confirmed. The studio has obtained the rights to the original book series, which ran from 1928 to 1963. It followed the witty Simon Templar, a modern day Robin Hood, of sorts, who robbed corrupt leaders of the world and gave to the poor. The series was adapted into a UK TV series in 1962 starring Roger Moore, which ran for 6 seasons. The series had a resurgence in 1997 with Paramount release of the film adaptation, The Saint. The thriller starred Val Kilmer and Elisabeth Shue and was directed by Phillip Noyce. Deadline first reported the story.