Move over, James Bond and Jason Bourne.
Jessica Chastain, Marion Cotillard, Penelope Cruz, Fan Bingbing and Lupita Nyong’o are set to star in 355, a female-driven spy thriller.
Chastain’s production shingle Freckle Films will produce and Simon Kinberg will direct the secret-agent drama, based on a script by Theresa Rebeck and an original idea by Chastain. The drama promises a globe-trotting adventure, with the five A-list actresses playing spies from international agencies who come together and overcome suspicions and conflicts as they battle to stop a global organization from thrusting the world into chaos.
Along the way, strangers and enemies become comrades and friends, and a new spy sisterhood, code-named 355, is formed. Chastain and Kelly Carmichael share producer credits with Kinberg under his Kinberg Genre banner.
FilmNation Entertainment and CAA Media Finance Group will kick off sales in Cannes, backed by the A-list cast on hand to tout the project to U.S. and foreign buyers.
FilmNation Entertainment will handle international sales. CAA Media Finance Group will represent the U.S. rights.
Chastain, an outspoken critic of Harvey Weinstein amid Hollywood’s #MeToo movement, with Freckle Films has aimed at having Hollywood hire more directors, writers and below-the-line talent to increase the representation of women in those positions.
“I see creating something like 355 as an opportunity and privilege to assemble a diverse group of women, all of whom have greatly influenced the film industry through their work, to join together equally and explore the bad ass world of international espionage and thrillers,” said Chastain in a statement.
“It’s something I’ve never seen, and it’s something that I believe will be not only incredibly entertaining for today’s global audience, but also something inspiring for an increasingly divided world,” added Kinberg in his own statement.
Kinberg is best known for his work on the X-Men franchise and for producing Logan and Deadpool. Kinberg is repped by CAA and Karl Austen at Jackoway Tyerman Wertheimer Austen Mandelbaum Morris & Klein.
Chastain is repped by CAA, Mosaic and Hansen, Jacobson. Cotillard is repped by CAA and ADEQUAT. Cruz is repped by CAA, Untitled Entertainment and Kuranda Management. Bingbing is repped by CAA. Nyong’o is repped by CAA and Del Shaw.