Chris Columbus has been tapped to direct an adaptation of The Thursday Murder Club.
Per Variety, Columbus has signed on to direct a movie based on Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club novel, which was published in 2020, for Amblin Entertainment.
Jeff Sneider’s The InSneider initially reported the news.
Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, and Ben Kingsley are all being eyed for lead roles in the film, though their casting has not yet been confirmed at this time.
What is The Thursday Murder Club about?
“In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet weekly in the Jigsaw Room to discuss unsolved crimes; together they call themselves the Thursday Murder Club,” the synopsis for Osman’s novel reads. “When a local developer is found dead with a mysterious photograph left next to the body, the Thursday Murder Club suddenly find themselves in the middle of their first live case. As the bodies begin to pile up, can our unorthodox but brilliant gang catch the killer, before it’s too late?”
Osman teased casting for The Thursday Murder Club was underway in an X post earlier this week. “Just been on a call with Amblin, and the cast for #TheThursdayMurderClub movie is insanely great, I think people are going to love it,” he wrote. “Official announcements very soon, and can’t wait to share it with everyone.”
Columbus is known for directing 1990’s Home Alone, 1993’s Mrs. Doubtfire, 2001’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, 2002’s Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, 2010’s Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, and 2020’s The Christmas Chronicles 2.
Additionally, he wrote the screenplays for 1984’s Gremlins, 1985’s The Goonies, and 1985’s Young Sherlock Holmes.
The Thursday Murder Club does not yet have an official release date from Amblin Entertainment.