EXCLUSIVE: Following a lengthy audition process, Michael B. Jordan looks to have zeroed in on the leading lady for his new The Thomas Crown Affair movie. Sources tell Deadline that Taylor Russell has landed the coveted role in the reimagining opposite Jordan, who is set to star and direct.
Jordan will also produce via his production banner Outlier Society alongside Elizabeth Raposo. The film will be released exclusively in theaters.
When Jordan set this as his next film last fall, the obvious next question was who would be the co-star that Jordan would steam up the screen with. The previous two Thomas Crown Affair films turned Faye Dunaway and Rene Russo into instant A-listers, so when Jordan announced this as his next film, the role quickly became one of the more sought after roles for a leading lady in town. On top of that, with Mission: Impossible films winding down and Jame Bond way off, Jordan has seen this as a potential replacement given the characters similarities to 007 and with that in mind, Russell could be creating her own version of the iconic Bond lady.
Russell would go through a long casting process that included meetings, auditions and ultimately a screen test with Jordan in London at the top of the year. That final screen test sealed the deal and Russell is now set to join Jordan this spring in London, where production is set to start.
This marks the third Thomas Crown Affair pic, with the most recent bowing in 1999, when Pierce Brosnan played the rich playboy who enjoys stealing art for a hobby but meets his match in an insurance investigator (Rene Russo), who quickly fall for each other. The original 1968 movie paired Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway and was directed by Norman Jewison. Plot details on this pic are being kept under wraps.
Russell already has strong ties with the studio after starring in the thriller Bones and All opposite Timothee Chalamet. Her big break came in the Netflix series Lost In Space and also earned rave reviews in the A24 pic Waves. She is repped by UTA and James Feldman.
Jordan and Outlier Society are repped by M88, WME and Greg Slewett.
Drew Pearce wrote the script for The Thomas Crown Affair. A previous draft was written by Wes Tooke and Justin Britt-Gibson, which was based on the original film. While plot details are being kept under wraps, the film is set to shoot this summer. Patrick McCormick and Marc Toberoff will also serve as producers. Alan Trustman (writer of the original 1968 film starring Steve McQueen) is an executive producer.
