Harry Potter director's adaptation of a hugely popular crime novel sets main cast, including a former James Bond

The cast for the movie adaptation of crime novel The Thursday Murder Club has been revealed, and it's an all-star line-up.

The Thursday Murder Club follows a group of pensioners living in a luxury retirement community who set out to solve the murder of a property developer. Author Richard Osman revealed that Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, and Ben Kingsley will play three of the four sleuths on his podcast The Rest is Entertainment: Mirren will play Elizabeth, Brosnan will play Ron, and Kingsley will play Ibrahim. The casting for Joyce, the fourth main character, is still under wraps.

The book is TV presenter and producer Osman's debut novel and was first published in 2020 after a 10-way bidding war between publishing houses. The Thursday Murder Club became a Sunday Times number one bestseller and, according to The Guardian, the book was the fastest-selling adult crime debut ever. Three sequels followed in 2021, 2022, and 2023, and a fifth book in the series is set to be published next year.

Steven Spielberg's production company Amblin Entertainment is behind the new adaptation and Chris Columbus (who's previously helmed movies like Home Alone, Mrs. Doubtfire, and the first two Harry Potter films) is in the director's chair. Amblin bought the rights to the novel back in 2020 and stars like Meryl Streep and Viola Davis had previously been rumored to be involved.

While we wait for The Thursday Murder Club to arrive on the big screen, check out our guide to the biggest movie release dates in 2024.