Murder mystery adaptation The Thursday Murder Club has added yet more names to its cast, including the great Richard E Grant.
Whether The Thursday Murder Club turns out to be good, bad or indifferent, there’s no doubting the strength of its cast. Among the stars already announced, we can now add Withnail himself, Richard E Grant, and veteran British actor Paul Freeman, whose signature roles include Belloq in Raiders Of The Lost Ark.
The murder mystery adaptation’s other new additions, according to Deadline, are Tom Ellis, Geoff Bell, Sarah Niles and Ingrid Oliver – the latter perhaps best known as recurring character Petronella Osgood in Doctor Who. Oliver also happens to be the spouse of Richard Osman, the author of the original Murder Club novel.
Directed by Chris Columbus and produced by Amblin, The Thursday Murder Club sees a bunch of crime-solving retirement home residents investigate the suspicious death of a local property developer. Playing those residents are Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley and Julia Imrie.
Among the supporting players already announced you’ll find David Tennant (another Doctor Who alum), Jonathan Pryce, Naomi Ackie, Daniel Mays and Henry-Lloyd Hughes. It’s a stacked cast, as the kids all say these days.
Previously better known as a TV producer and co-presenter of quiz show Pointless, Richard Osman became a literary sensation almost overnight when The Thursday Murder Club, his debut novel, was published in 2020. Amblin Entertainment were so impressed with its commercial appeal that it optioned the book before it was even published.
Filming is currently under way in the UK as these words are being typed – Osman himself announced that the shoot began on the 27th June, and has since been sharing behind the scenes photos from the production on his Twitter/X/whatever account.
Osman describes the announcement of Richard E Grant and the latest crop of actors as the “final casting news” from the production. The Thursday Murder Club is likely to be released at some point in 2025.
More on all this as we get it.
