Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke is set to join the cast of Criminal, Prime Video’s upcoming adaptation of the Eisner Award-winning graphic novel series created by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips.
Criminal tells “the interweaving saga of several generations of families tied together by the crimes and murders of the past.” Clarke will play Mallory, “a slick and daring armed robber, as quick with a gun as she is with her wits. Part of a heist crew with Ricky Lawless (Gus Halper), who she’s in a passionate Bonnie-and-Clyde-like affair with. Mallory is a woman on the edge, living on the wrong side of the law and hiding secrets that will bring her and her entire crew into the danger zone.“
Charlie Hunnam will star in Criminal as Leo, “a brilliant master thief who sees all the angles, and specializes in plans with no guns and no violence. Like a chess player, Leo thinks three moves ahead. Other crooks think he’s a coward, especially compared to his father Tommy, who went to jail for murdering the most feared man in the city, Teeg Lawless.” In addition to Emilia Clarke and Hunnam, the cast of Criminal also includes Adria Arjona, Richard Jenkins, John Hawkes, Logan Browning, Kadeem Hardison, Pat Healy, Taylor Sele, Aliyah Camacho, Michael Mando, Marvin Jones III, Michael Xavier, and Dominic Burgess.
Ed Brubaker wrote the script for the pilot and will serve as co-showrunner of the series with Jordan Harper. Both will also executive produce alongside Sean Phillips, Sarah Carbiener, Phillip Barnett, and Legendary Television. Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden will direct the first four episodes of the series.
“Criminal is a beloved graphic novel created by the most iconic team in the history of comics,” said Nick Pepper, head of U.S. SVOD wholly-owned development, Amazon MGM Studios, when the project was first announced. “I know our global Prime Video customers will immediately embrace this story, and I look forward to working with Ed, Jordan, and the team to bring it to the screen.“ Brubaker added, “Sean and I have been building this world in our books for over a decade, and now to be able to bring it to life for Amazon is just incredible. And to have Amazon support the project the way they have, and show so much faith in my and Jordan’s vision for the show is even more incredible.“