Jeremy Renner is set to headline King of Heists, Deadline reports, based on the 2010 nonfiction book by J. North Conway.
Subtitled “The Sensational Bank Robbery of 1878 that Shocked America,” Conway’s book is officially described as follows:
“King of Heists” is a spellbinding and unprecedented account of the greatest bank robbery in American history, which took place on October 27, 1878, when thieves broke into the Manhattan Savings Institution and stole nearly $3 million in cash and securities around $50 million in todays terms. Bringing the notorious Gilded Age to life in a thrilling narrative, J. North Conway tells the story of those who plotted and carried out this infamous robbery, how they did it, and how they were tracked down and captured. The robbery was planned to the minutest detail by criminal mastermind George Leonidas Leslie a society architect and ladies man whose double life as the nations most prolific bank robber led him to be dubbed the King of the Bank Robbers.
Renner will take on the role of Leslie with newcomer Will Staples adapting the tale for the screen.
King of Heists marks another ambitious project for Renner, who is already starring in Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, The Avengers and The Bourne Legacy, all of which are set up as potential franchises.
(Photo Credit: Ian Wilson / WENN.com)
