Deadpool & Wolverine‘s Hugh Jackman is set to star in Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Movie and I was not prepared for the synopsis. Let’s get right to it.
Based on Leonie Swann’s international bestseller, the film follows George Hardy (Jackman), “a shepherd who loves his sheep and raises them only for their wool. Every night, he reads aloud a murder mystery, pretending his sheep can understand, never suspecting that not only can they understand, but they argue for hours afterwards about whodunnit. When George is found dead under mysterious circumstances, the sheep realize at once that it was a murder and think they know everything about how to go about solving it. The local cop Tim Derry, on the other hand, has never solved a serious crime in his life, so the sheep conclude they will have to solve it themselves, even if it means leaving their meadow for the first time and facing the fact that the human world isn’t as simple as it appears in books.” Sheep detectives? Sign me up. I love it.
In addition to Hugh Jackman, Three Bags Full will also star Emma Thompson (Matilda the Musical), Nicholas Braun (Succession), Nicholas Galitzine (The Idea of You), Molly Gordon (Theater Camp), Hong Chau (The Whale), Tosin Cole (Supacell), Kobna Holdbrook-Smith (Wonka), Conleth Hill (Game of Thrones), and Mandeep Dhillon (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker). Kyle Balda (Minions: The Rise of Gru) will direct the live-action comedy which has been scripted by Craig Mazin. While most now know Mazin for his cheery work on The Last of Us and Chernobyl, he got his start writing comedies such as Scary Movie 3, Scary Movie 4, The Hangover Part II, The Hangover Part III, and Identity Thief, so this certainly isn’t outside his wheelhouse.
Three Bags Full was Swann’s first novel, originally published in Germany in 2005 under the title Glennkill. It was a huge success, winning numerous awards, including the Glauser Prize for crime fiction in the debut category.
The film will be produced by Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner of Working Title, as well as Lindsay Doran. Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Aditya Sood, and Tim Wellspring will executive produce. The film will be released exclusively in theaters on February 20, 2026.