Back in 2020, it was announced that Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again director Ol Parker would be following that film up by taking the helm of The Thursday Murder Club, an adaptation of the debut novel by Richard Osman (creator and co-presenter of the BBC quiz show Pointless), for Amblin. Given that Parker’s involvement was announced just days before the pandemic lockdowns, it’s not surprising to hear that iteration of the project didn’t hold together… but The Thursday Murder Club is still moving forward. Home Alone and Harry Potter director Chris Columbus is now attached to direct the film, and Variety reports that Pierce Brosnan (GoldenEye), Helen Mirren (The Queen), and Ben Kingsley (Iron Man 3) are being eyed for three of the four the lead roles!
The Thursday Murder Club will tell the story of four septuagenarian friends who live in a retirement community and solve cold cases for fun. When a shady property developer is found dead, the four find themselves in the middle of their first live crime.
The book became popular months before it was ever published, with Amblin beating thirteen other companies to come out the winner in an intense bidding war over the film rights. The Thursday Murder Club then became a New York Times bestseller, spawning three sequels: The Man Who Died Twice, The Bullet That Missed, and The Last Devil to Die. The fifth book in the series is expected to arrive sometime in 2025.
Osman recently took to social media to say that the cast of The Thursday Murder Club is “insanely great.” The line-up of Brosnan, Mirren, and Kingsley would definitely fit that description… and if they do sign on, it looks like this has potential to become a franchise for them.
Would you like to see Pierce Brosnan, Helen Mirren, and Ben Kingsley play retirement community residents who set out to solve a mystery? Have you read The Thursday Murder Club or any of its sequels? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
I haven’t read the book yet, but this project sounds interesting to me, so I look forward to seeing how it’s going to turn out.