Richard Osman’s best-selling murder mystery novel The Thursday Murder Club is being adapted into a film by writer-director Chris Columbus, with Pierce Brosnan, Helen Mirren and Ben Kingsley to star.
For a while there, Richard Osman was more widely known in the UK as the clever chap with the laptop on TV quiz show Pointless. In 2020, though, Osman published his debut novel, The Thursday Murder Club, a mystery thriller considered to be such hot property that Amblin Entertainment – Steven Spielberg’s production company – snapped up the rights before it was even on shelves.
It’s now reported that Chris Columbus, of Mrs Doubtfire and Harry Potter fame, is to write and direct the adaptation for Amblin. According to Deadline, the film has already attracted an impressive cast, with Pierce Brosnan, Helen Mirren (pictured) and Ben Kingsley announced so far.
The Thursday Murder Club follows the well-to-do residents of a retirement home, who find themselves attempting to the solve the case of a deceased property developer. It’s said that Mirren will play the role of Elizabeth Best, a former spy; Brosnan will play Ron Ritchie, a former union activist; and Kingsley will play Ibrahim Arif, an ex-psychiatrist. The one main role that hasn’t been filled yet is Joyce Meadowcroft, a former nurse.
Shooting on the film is due to begin in June and will last until September.
It’s the latest honk of success for Osman, who reportedly landed a seven-figure advance for his novel which has since gone on to sell ten million copies. Since 2020, he’s written several novels in rapid succession: The Man Who Died Twice (2021), The Bullet That Missed (2022) and The Last Devil To Die (2023). His next book is said to be scheduled in 2025.
Did you know that the laptop Osman constantly had open in Pointless was never even switched on? As Neil Gaiman once wrote, “Writers are liars, my dear.”
More on The Thursday Murder Club as we get it.
