Kenneth Branagh, Lily Gladstone Added to Cast for "The Thomas Crown Affair" Remake

Academy Award winner Kenneth Branagh and Academy Award nominee Lily Gladstone have joined Michael B. Jordan in Amazon MGM’s reimagining of the heist thriller "The Thomas Crown Affair."

Additionally, Charles Roven has come aboard to produce the movie via his Atlas Entertainment banner. The veteran producer was behind last year’s remake of "Road House" for the studio.

Jordan is not only starring in the heist feature but also directing as well as producing it with his Outlier Society banner. The company’s Elizabeth Raposo is also producing.

The original Thomas Crown, made by United Artists in 1968, starred Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway and involved a man who organizes bank robberies for sport but meets his match when he falls for (or maybe not) the insurance investigator hot on his tail. The 1999 remake starred Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo.

Sources say the action of the reimagining is taking place in Europe while still keeping the art thieving theme.

Production begun Monday in London, and the project just added Black Panther star Danai Gurira to its call sheet. Taylor Russell is also in the cast.

Jordan is playing the billionaire with the art-loving sticky fingers, while Gurira will play Jordan’s confidante, and Russell is the suave private detective. Character details for Gladstone and Branagh are being kept under the umbrella. 

Amazon MGM has set a March 5, 2027, theatrical release for the romantic thriller.

Drew Pearce wrote the script for "Thomas Crown" after a previous draft was written by Wes Tooke and Justin Britt-Gibson, which was based on the original movie.

Patrick McCormick and Toberoff Productions’ Marc Toberoff will also serve as producers. Alan Trustman, who wrote the original 1968 movie, is an executive producer.

Branagh won the Oscar in 2022 for original screenplay for his film personal drama "Belfast", which also earned him nominations for directing and for best picture. He already had five previous Oscar nominations under his belt. As an actor, he appeared in Christopher Nolan’s "Oppenheimer" and will next be seen opposite Ryan Reynolds in "Mayday".

Gladstone became the first Native American to be nominated for an Academy Award for best actress, thanks to her starring role opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in Martin Scorsese’s "Killers of the Flower Moon". 

The role also earned her the 2023 Golden Globe for best actress in a drama motion picture, the 2024 Screen Actors Guild Award for female actor in a leading role, best actress of 2023 by the New York Film Critics Circle, and the National Board of Review.

Gladstone appeared in Hulu’s limited series "Under The Bridge" in another role that earned her various accolades, an Emmy, SAG, and Indie Spirit Award nominations among them. She can currently be seen in Andrew Ahn’s "The Wedding Banquet" for Bleecker Street.