Black Bag: Pierce Brosnan, Naomie Harris join Steven Soderbergh’s spy thriller

Steven Soderbergh is assembling quite the cast for his upcoming spy thriller, Black Bag, and THR has reported that Pierce Brosnan, Naomie Harris, and Tom Burke are the latest additions to the project.

Plot details are being kept under wrap, but the cast of Black Bag also includes Cate Blanchett, Michael Fassbender, Regé Jean Page, and Marisa Abela. Soderbergh will direct from a script by David Koepp, and production is expected to begin in May in London.

Of course, Pierce Brosnan and Naomie Harris are no stranger to spy movies, with Brosnan playing James Bond in Goldeneye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World is Not Enough, and Die Another Day, and Harris playing Eve Moneypenny in Skyfall, Spectre, and No Time to Die. Tom Burke played Orson Welles in David Fincher’s Mank and will next be seen in George Miller’s Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.

Speaking of James Bond, Brosnan recently suggested that Oppenheimer star Cillian Murphy would make a great 007, saying, “Cillian would do a magnificent job as James Bond.” While I have little doubt he would be great in the role, Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson are looking for someone in their mid-thirties. Earlier today it was suggested that Aaron Taylor-Johnson has been “formally offered” the role of James Bond, but nothing is official. Taylor-Johnson has previously called rumours that he would be the next James Bond “flattering” but wouldn’t confirm or deny anything.

Steven Soderbergh’s latest movie, Presence, screened at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. The supernatural thriller follows a family who moves into a suburban house and becomes convinced they are not alone. A supernatural force has infiltrated the house, taking a specific interest in the couple’s daughter. Our own Chris Bumbray enjoyed the film but admitted that it might not be for everyone. “While its experimental nature means that Presence will be one of Soderbergh’s more niche efforts, it’s still technically impeccable and moving once you settle into it,” Bumbray wrote. “It’s an interesting exercise for a director who never fails to innovate.” You can check out the rest of his review right here.