'The Thursday Murder Club' film: Cast announced for Richard Osman book movie adaptation including Ben Kingsley

A-list actors Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan and Ben Kingsley have been cast in three of the four leading roles in the film adaptation of Richard Osman’s bestselling mystery book ‘The Thursday Murder Club’.

The actors are to play three of the four friends who all live in a retirement home who gather to solve murders for fun - but soon find themselves caught in a real case. It’s not just big names who will be in front of the camera either, there will also be a big industry name behind it too. Chris Columbus, whose previous credits include some of the most iconic films such as ‘Home Alone’, ‘Mrs Doubtfire’ and the first two ‘Harry Potter’ films, is set to direct. Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment is also producing.

Osman teased the news on X on earlier today (Tuesday April 23), by posting: “Just been on a call with Amblin, and the cast for #TheThursdayMurderClub movie is insanely great, I think people are going to love it. Official announcements very soon, and can’t wait to share it with everyone.” The casting was then confirmed exclusively by the author and quiz show host on his podcast, ‘The Rest Is Entertainment’.

Mirren will play ex-spy Elizabeth, Kingsley will play ex-psychiatrist Ibrahim and Brosnan will play former union activist Ron. The fourth main character, a retired nurse called Joyce, has not yet been confirmed. “Joyce, we’re still in negotiations but again the name is the one that people most shout at me in the street” Osman said on the podcast. But, he teased fans, promising that “lots more casting [is] to come in the following weeks.”

Osman also said the production will take place from “the end of June to September” at as yet undisclosed location in England. It is not yet known when the film will be released.

The book is the fastest-selling adult crime debut in recorded history. Published in 2020, it is set in the fictional Kentish town of Fairhaven and features the four friends who solve the murder of a property developer. To date the series it spawned, including 2021’s ‘The Man Who Died Twice’, 2022’s ‘The Bullet That Missed’ and 2023’s ‘The Last Devil to Die’, have sold more than 10million copies globally. A fifth book is planned for publication next year.

Osman sold the rights to ‘The Thursday Murder Club’ to Spielberg in 2020, and work has been ongoing for the eagerly anticipated film adaptation since then. Fans of the series will no doubt be hoping that the ‘The Thursday Murder Club’ is just the first film adaptation and that the other books from the series will also be adapted and made for the big screen.

Osman is best known as TV presenter on game shows ‘Pointless’ and also ‘Richard Osman’s House of Games’. Before his on-screen career, he was a well-known entertainment television executive, working at Hat Trick Productions and Big Brother producer Endemol UK, where he was Creative Director and produced the likes of ‘Deal or No Deal’.