Pierce Brosnan and Helen Mirren cast in Richard Osman's Thursday Murder Club movie

"I'm now allowed to officially announce three of the four members of The Thursday Murder Club, anyway," he said.

"So, Elizabeth is going to be played by the person who people most often shout at me in the street as them wanting to play Elizabeth... Elizabeth is going to be played by Helen Mirren, which is very exciting."

He added that the role of Joyce would likely also be played by a star who many have suggested, but said that negotiations were still ongoing and so he couldn't reveal anything yet.

But he continued that Ibrahim would be played by Sir Ben Kingsley and that Ron – who he described as a "left-wing bruiser, ex-trade union official" - will be played by Brosnan, calling the former James Bond star "the most handsome man in the world".

"So Mirren, Kingsley and Brosnan," he concluded. "We're filming this summer, filming from the end of June through to September, all in England."

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The film will be helmed by Home Alone and Harry Potter director Chris Columbus, while Osman also teased lots more casting news in the coming weeks.

The Thursday Murder Club became the fastest-selling adult crime debut in history when it was published in 2020, and has since been followed by three sequels, with another set for release next year.

It follows a group of four 70-something retirees – Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron – who unite at their retirement village in the fictional town of Fairhaven, Kent, to solve the murder of a property developer.

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