UPDATE: Variety edited the interview and fessed up to incorrectly reporting on Ruth Negga, Aubrey Plaza, and Papa Essiedu’s casting in the film.
EARLIER: The pieces continue to fall into place for what Amazon/MGM hopes will be a slick, star-driven reinvention of “The Thomas Crown Affair.”
We already know that it is set to star Michael B. Jordan, Adria Arjona, Lily Gladstone, and Kenneth Branagh. We can now add Ruth Negga, Aubrey Plaza, and Papa Essiedu.
That’s what Jordan revealed in an interview with Variety’s Awards Circuit podcast. He further mentions how he grew up watching the 1999 remake, and not the 1968 original, which he only caught up with years later.
Jordan, who is also directing the film, headlines as the titular Crown — a wealthy, thrill-seeking art thief who orchestrates elaborate heists more for the adrenaline rush than the payout. The chemistry between Arjona and Jordan will make or break this film.
Filming wrapped last week. It’s now in post-production and set for a March 5, 2027 release. Don’t be surprised if it moves from that date soon.
Most enticing, Jordan’s ‘Thomas Crown Affair’ has Bradford Young as its DP. The cinematographer had a very promising start to his career — “Arrival,” “A Most Violent Year,” “Selma” — deemed by some a future great, and then he just stopped making movies. Maybe he was soured by the experience he had on his last one, 2018’s “Solo: A Star Wars Story.”
“The Thomas Crown Affair” is being set up as Jordan’s sophomore directorial effort, following his debut behind the camera with “Creed III.” Amazon/MGM is planning an exclusive theatrical release — no streaming shortcut here. The script is by Drew Pearce (“Hotel Artemis”), though an earlier draft, based more closely on the original film, was written by Wes Tooke and Justin Britt-Gibson.
This will be the third ‘Thomas Crown’ film. The most recent version, and the one that seems to have inspired Jordan, was released in 1999. Directed by John McTiernan, it starred Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo. The original 1968 film, directed by Norman Jewison, featured Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway in a sleek, stylish game of cat and mouse.
It gives me no pleasure to report that this is one of the worst films of Schrader’s career. Wooden acting, Jack Huston and Sofia Boutella are badly miscast, the script is dull, the photography is flat; nothing works.