Richard Osman has revealed that the film adaptation of his book The Thursday Murder Club will star Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan and Ben Kingsley.
The TV host, 53, announced the incredible cast in the latest episode of his podcast, The Rest is Entertainment with Marina Hyde, adding that filming will begin in June.
Dame Helen, 78, will play Elizabeth Best, Sir Ben, 80, will play Ibrahim Arif and Pierce, 70, will take on the role of Ron Ritchie.
The latest lead role in the hit detective story, Joyce Meadowcroft, has not yet been officially cast.
Richard said: ‘I can now officially announce three of the four members of the Thursday Murder Club.
The TV host, 53, announced the incredible cast on the latest episode of his podcast, The Rest is Entertainment with Marina Hyde, adding that filming will begin in June (pictured in 2021).
Chris Columbus (pictured in 2021) was announced to direct the film last week and Richard revealed: “He’s working on the script at the moment.”
“Elizabeth will be played by the person that people most often shout at me on the street because they want Elizabeth to be played… Helen Mirren, which is very exciting.”
‘Ibrahim is Sir Ben Kingsley. ‘Ron is going to be played by… I’m going to say the most handsome man in the world, so he’s going to have to blunt himself a little… Pierce Brosnan.’
And he added: ‘Joyce, we are still in negotiations but again the name is the one that people shout at me the most on the street.
Richard went on to detail the project, which Chris Columbus was announced to direct last week.
He said: ‘There will be a lot more casting in the coming weeks. We will be filming this summer from the end of June to September, all in England.”
Chris, who directed Mrs Doubtfire, Home Alone and the first two Harry Potter films, also wrote The Goonies, which Richard revealed is his wife Ingrid Oliver’s “favourite film of all time”.
He added: “He’s working on the script right now.”
Richard continued: ‘Mirren, Kingsley, Brosnan… I can see the poster now. As summer progresses, any questions for the Q&A edition [of the podcast] about Ben Kingsley, his opinions on things, ask me. I’ll have tea with him on a bus…’
The Thursday Murder Club follows a group of retirees from a middle-class retirement village who set out to solve the murder of a real estate developer.
Richard wrote the book for 18 months in secret and was soon at the center of a ten-party bidding war, before Penguin Random House bought the rights for a seven-figure sum in 2019 (pictured in 2021).
The novels have become a huge success story, selling more than 10 million copies worldwide (Richard pictured in 2013).
Thursday Murder Club follows a group of retirees in a middle-class retirement town, who set out to solve the murder of a real estate developer.
The amateur detective gang consists of retired ghost Elizabeth, grumpy ex-union man Ron, ex-nurse Joyce and psychiatrist Ibrahim.
Richard wrote the book for 18 months in secret and was soon at the center of a ten-party bidding war, before Penguin Random House bought the rights for a seven-figure sum in 2019.
Upon publication in 2020, The Thursday Murder Club became the only book to sell more than one million copies in the same year of its release and the third best-selling hardcover novel after The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown and Harry Potter & JK Rowling. The Deathly Hallows.
Three sequels followed, The Man Who Died Twice in 2021, The Bullet That Missed in 2022, and The Last Devil to Die in 2023, with a fifth scheduled for release next year.
The novels have become a huge success story, selling more than 10 million copies worldwide.
The film rights to the book were soon acquired by legendary director Steven Spielberg, and his production company Amblin Entertainment beat out competition from 13 other studios.
The film was originally going to be written and directed by Ol Parker, with filming set to begin in March, with Meryl Streep and Viola Davis rumored to star.
The film rights to the book were soon acquired by legendary director Steven Spielberg (pictured last week) and his production company Amblin Entertainment beat off competition from 13 other studios.