On the heels of a strong box office opening for the number 1 movie of the weekend he stars in (Jordan Peele’s “Get Out”), Daniel Kaluuya has joined Andre Holland (he was said to be in negotiations a month ago), Viola Davis and “Color Purple” star Cynthia Erivo in director Steve McQueen’s New Regency big screen adaptation of the British TV series “Widows.” Airing in 1983, “Widows” followed the widows of 3 crime bosses killed during a robbery attempt, who are being pressured by the police, as well as a rival group of thieves intent on taking over their husbands’ crime business. The widows then team up to eliminate both problems, as they bring on a 4th woman to pull off a heist of their own.
Also on board is Michelle Rodriguez.
Still no details on what characters each actor attached has signed up to play at this time; but we can probably guess that Davis, Erivo and Rodriguez play the widows; Kaluuya and Holland (assuming he’s officially part of the cast) however, aren’t as clear. They could be the husbands/crime bosses who are killed, the police, members of the rival group of thieves, or something else entirely. We’ll certainly find out eventually.
In the original TV series the film is based on, the 3 widows are played by white actresses, but the 4th woman who’s enlisted to assist with the heist, was played by a black actress in Eva Mottley.
McQueen’s adaptation will be a feature film, not a TV series, and will be set in the U.S.A.
The project is being scripted by Gillian Flynn (“Gone Girl”) and McQueen, who will also produce, alongside Iain Canning and Emile Sherman of See-Saw Films (“Shame,” “The Kings Speech”).
No ETA at this time, but it’s a film on my early list of 2018 Oscar nominee possibilities. It’s unclear what tone McQueen’s film will take; more comedic, dramatic, thriller, mystery, all of the above?
The original British “Widows” TV series isn’t available for USA audiences at this time, but several episodes are on YouTube, so you can check them all out. Below you’ll find season 1, episodes 1, 2 and 3 of the series:
