Deadline is reporting that Simon Kinberg (X-Men: Dark Phoenix) is set to direct 355, “a large-scale espionage film” starring Jessica Chastain (Molly’s Game), Marion Cotillard (Allied), Penelope Cruz (Murder on the Orient Express), Fan Bingbing (X-Men: Days of Future Past) and Lupita Nyong’o (Black Panther).
The star-studded female ensemble has been written by Theresa Rebeck (Catwoman, Gossip) and is described as “a grounded, edgy action thriller” in the style of James Bond, Mission: Impossible and the Bourne films.
“I had so much fun working on The Help that I always wanted to do another female ensemble film,” said Chastain. “I love the Bourne movies, the Mission: Impossible films, and wondered why, except for Charlie’s Angels, there hadn’t been a true female ensemble action-thriller spy film. That got my wheels going, along with the idea of casting actresses from all over the world to truly make it an international project. I realized the incredible creative freedom we would have with that. I brought the idea to Simon, told him about the actresses I was thinking of, and he was so sweet. He said, ‘I want to do it with you.’”
“Then I called all the women, told them what I was envisioning and that I wanted it to be a collaborative process, and how we would all create this together,” Chastain continued. “The one thing that felt important is that we all show up at Cannes, because that would be the beginning of our journey together. Every single actress I called said yes, on the phone call. They committed to Cannes and to everything. So far it has been a very wonderfully easy process.”
As Chastain mentions, Kinberg and the cast will be attending Cannes next week to sell the package deal, with the hopes of launching a franchise.
