According to Deadline, The Time Traveler’s Wife actor Theo James has signed on for the leading role in Guy Ritchie’s upcoming series adaptation of The Gentlemen, based on his 2020 film of the same name. Netflix has officially teamed up with Miramax TV to acquire its distribution rights.
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James’ casting comes over two years after the project was first announced. In addition, it has also been revealed that Giancarlo Esposito, Vinnie Jones, and Joely Richardson have also joined The Gentlemen series, along with Kaya Scodelario, Daniel Ings, and Peter Serafinowicz. Production is expected to begin next week in London.
The Gentlemen series will see Theo James playing Eddie Halstead, “who has inherited his father’s sizeable estate only to discover that it’s sitting on top of a weed empire owned by the legendary Mickey Pearson. Has this straight-up soldier got what it takes to master the dark arts of the British criminal underworld and take control of the entire operation?”
As for the rest of the cast, Jones is set to play Geoff Seacombe, the groundskeeper of the estate, while Scodelario will play Susie Glass, the ying to Eddie Halstead’s yang who oversees Mickey Pearson’s drug business. Ings plays Freddy Halstead, Eddie’s older sibling who owes dangerous people a debt, and Richardson plays Lady Sabrina, Eddie and Freddy’s mother.
The 2020 film was considered as a commercial success, with a worldwide gross of $115 million. It starred Matthew McConaughey, Hugh Grant, Collin Farrell, Henry Golding, Michelle Dockery, Charlie Hunnam, Jeremy Strong, and Eddie Marsan.
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“The world of The Gentlemen is a little bit of me,” Ritchie said in a statement. “I’m thrilled that with Netflix, Miramax, and Moonage, we have this opportunity to inhabit it once again. We’re looking forward to bringing fans back into that world, introducing new characters and their stories, and I am excited to be doing it with this extremely talented cast.”
The upcoming Netflix series is written and executive produced by Ritchie and Matthew Read, who will also direct the first two episodes. The project hails from Miramax TV and Moonage Pictures. Executive producers are Ivan Atkinson, Marn Davies, and Bill Block.
