6 Reasons The Thursday Murder Club Is Netflix’s Most Exciting Upcoming Movie

Between the cast and the source material, the Netflix adaptation of The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman is without a doubt the most exciting upcoming movie. Many highly anticipated films will come out in 2025, giving viewers a wide selection of choices. While Knives Out 3 is the biggest name mystery film coming out in 2025, another film deserves just as much excitement, if not more — The Thursday Murder Club.

The book by Osman came out early into the COVID-19 lockdown and became an instant hit because of its clever mystery and exciting characters. It easily ranks among the best modern mystery books. In 2022, word broke that the book would become a movie, raising excitement for fans. The film adaptation of The Thursday Murder Club wrapped filming in September 2024, and Netflix set the release timeframe for 2025. Looking at the information available about the film, The Thursday Morning Club deserves immense excitement, as it could be one of the best modern mystery movies.

6

Netflix’s The Thursday Murder Club Has A Brilliant Cast

The 2025 Netflix Film Is Packed With Award-Winning Actors

Close

Potential viewers who haven’t heard of or read The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman still have a great reason to feel excited about the upcoming Netflix adaptation. The Netflix film is packed with big-name actors who have proven themselves among the best. The four main characters are played by Dame Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley, and Celia Imrie.

Dame Helen Mirren’s career has spanned 60 years, with some of her most notable projects being Caligula (1979), The Queen (2006), Red (2010), and Barbie (2023). Pierce Brosnan might be best-known for playing James Bond from 1995 to 2002, but he’s also appeared in hits like Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) and Mamma Mia! (2008). Ben Kingsley has had a prolific onscreen career as well, appearing in films like Gandhi (1982), Schindler’s List (1993), and Iron Man 3 (2013). Celia Imrie has also shone in Imagine Me & You (2005), The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (Madge Hardcastle), and The Diplomat (2023-Present).

helen-mirren-movies-ranked

Related

Helen Mirren’s 10 Best Movies, Ranked

Helen Mirren has been dazzling audiences on screen for over 50 years, and there are a few masterpieces that stand out as the best in her filmography.

Posts

That’s just the impressive background for the four main characters. Supporting roles in The Thursday Murder Club will be filled by beloved actors David Tennant, Naomi Ackie, Tom Ellis, Richard E. Grant, and Daniel Mays – to name a few. While actors are far from the only thing that determines the success of a project, the stars who will appear in The Thursday Murder Club point to the Netflix film being fantastic. With such star power, it would take terrible writing or directing for the movie to flop, which doesn’t seem likely considering the notable behind-the-scenes individuals attached to the project.

5

The Thursday Murder Club Is Based On A Best-Selling Book With Accolades

The Thursday Murder Club Has Remained Popular With Book Readers

Thursday Murder Club Book Cover

One reason to feel excited about Netflix’s upcoming film The Thursday Murder Club is the fact that it’s based on a best-selling book with rave reviews from fans. Many of the best mystery film franchises are adaptations of superbly written books. After its 2020 release, The Thursday Murder Club hit the bestseller list for both the New York Times and Sunday Times, reaching the platinum rank reserved for books that sell over one million copies in the UK.

Since then, the book has maintained moderate to high ratings, holding a 3.9 rating on Goodreads (based on 605,507 reviews) and a 4.3 rating on Amazing (based on 161,508 reviews). Additionally, the source material for Netflix’s The Thursday Murder Club is so compelling that writer Richard Osman received the Author of the Year award at the 2021 British Book Awards for The Thursday Murder Club.

The hype and praise for the original book sets the Netflix mystery film up for success. Hopefully, writers Chris Columbus and Katy Brand rely on the excellent story that already exists rather than completely changing the story for the onscreen version.

4

There Are Four More Books To Adapt If The Thursday Murder Club Movie Is Successful

The Thursday Murder Club Doesn’t Have To Be a One-Off Film

The Thursday Murder Club Art

When audiences become attached to characters and settings, it’s natural to want to see them on screen again. Unfortunately, adaptations of standalone books struggle because, to create a sequel, they must craft an entirely new story that feels authentic to the existing world. This isn’t an issue that The Thursday Murder Club will encounter. If the film is successful and Netflix chooses to produce a sequel, the creative team has multiple books to work with.

Every Book In The Series The Thursday Murder Club

Release Year

The Thursday Murder Club

2020

The Man Who Died Twice

2021

The Bullet That Missed

2022

The Last Devil To Die

2023

Untitled Thursday Murder Club 5

2025

Untitled Thursday Murder Club 6

2027

Richard Osman has written three released sequels to The Thursday Murder Club, all of which quickly became bestsellers upon their release, with the third book attaining platinum bestseller status as well. A fifth book is coming out this year. In December 2024, Mushens Entertainment also announced that Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club series will soon see a sixth book released in 2027, with the company publishing the book in the US and Pamela Dorman Books handling the US release. Ultimately, the ongoing expansion of the book series makes the Netflix adaptation even more exciting.

Collage of Benoit Blanc in Glass Onion, Memories of Murder, and Rebecca.

Related

35 Best Murder Mysteries Ranked (& Where To Stream Them)

What makes a great murder mystery movie? From Alfred Hitchcock films to cult classics to Benoit Blanc, we have 35 offerings in the beloved genre.

Posts

The robust number of books means that viewers can get invested in the Netflix adaptation, knowing they likely won’t have to say goodbye to the rambunctious main characters anytime soon (unless the streaming giant continues its ridiculous trend of canceling great Netflix original TV shows and film franchises too soon). They can also look forward to sequels without concern about the story. They can develop an emotional connection to Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron, and Bernard, knowing that they can continue to revisit their favorite characters in book format even if Netflix chooses to keep The Thursday Murder Club a one-off film.

3

Director And Co-Writer Chris Columbus Has A Great Track Record

The Thursday Murder Club Is In Great Hands With Chris Columbus

Close

Filmmaker Chris Columbus directed and co-wrote the screenplay for The Thursday Murder Club, which is a great sign based on his past track record. Most of the films Columbus has directed are book adaptations, so he has experience creating a vision based on a book. Some of his most successful book adaptations include Bicentennial Man, the first two Harry Potter movies, and Mrs. Doubtfire. He also served as a producer on the award-nominated adaptation of Kathryn Stockett’s The Help. If Columbus puts as much time and attention into The Thursday Murder Club as he has in the past, the Netflix film will undoubtedly succeed.

Chris Columbus’s directing style also will mesh well with Richard Osman’s story. The director is known for a very cozy and Earthy visual aesthetic with memorable sets, which perfectly fit the retirement village of Cooper’s Chase. He also frequently leans into dramatic moments, giving them the time and space they need to breathe. Although the story is a mystery, Richard Osman’s book is surprisingly poignant, offering many emotional moments and themes that will need the space that Columbus provides.

If this isn’t enough of a reason to believe that Chris Columbus will do great with The Thursday Murder Club, it’s worth acknowledging that the filmmaker wrote the script for the 1985 film Young Sherlock Holmes. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes books are some of the most challenging works to adapt for the big screen because the characters are so iconic. If Columbus can handle the pressure of adapting Sherlock Holmes, he will be able to handle The Thursday Murder Club. Plus, his experience working with mystery novels will undoubtedly help with the Netflix film.

2

Shows And Movies Like The Thursday Murder Club Have Found Success On Netflix

Netflix Murder Mysteries Have Performed Well With Critics And Audiences

A composite image of Emma Myers looking on in A Good Girl's Guide to Murder

Custom Image by Dalton Norman

The Thursday Murder Club is being created as a Netflix original show, with Amblin Entertainment and Netflix co-producing the film. This is actually good news for the mystery film that should build excitement among fans. When Netflix produces an original show rather than acquiring it, the streaming giant has an immense amount of control over the show. Luckily, Netflix has a history of creating entertaining and successful mystery shows and movies like The Thursday Murder Club.

Some of the most recent examples include A Man On the Inside and A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, both of which are renewed for a second season. The 2024 comedy series A Man On the Inside is a comedy mystery with older main characters, which matches the genre and main characters of The Thursday Murder Club. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder includes an ordinary person who gets sucked into a murder plot, like the foursome in the upcoming Netflix film.

Older Netflix mysteries that prove the streaming giant’s ability to handle the genre include High Seas and Glass Onion. The Netflix series High Seas demonstrates that they can create a great mystery that’s contained in a limited space. Even Netflix’s Glass Onion bodes well for The Thursday Murder Club since it balances a mystery filled with plot twists and comedy. If Netflix gives the upcoming murder mystery movie the same amount of attention to detail and quality control as these previous projects, The Thursday Murder Club could rival Wake Up Dead Man for the best Netflix original mystery of 2025.

1

Author Richard Osman Is Excited About The Thursday Murder Club Movie

The Author Of The Thursday Murder Club Can’t Wait To See The Film

The author of the original story is the one person who has the right to be the most skeptical and critical of any onscreen adaptation. After all, they wrote the original story. However, author Richard Osman isn’t concerned about the upcoming Netflix film. In fact, he’s excited about the movie version of The Thursday Murder Club.

Osman is in a unique position with the upcoming murder mystery. Authors often retain creative control or at least a strong influence over the film adaptations of their stories. However, Osman decided not to write the screenplay for the film because he wanted to spend his time writing another book instead of getting involved in the film adaptation of The Thursday Murder Club (via Collider). However, he does have insight into the film that the audience isn’t privy to because he has gone to the set of the film sometimes. He told Good Housekeeping this:

“I’m nothing to do with it, so I’m as interested as anyone else to see what it’s going to be, how it’s going to turn out. But the cast is wonderful, the director, Chris Columbus is wonderful, and the producer, Steven Spielberg is wonderful. So I feel like it’s in good hands. But yeah, I go down occasionally and just sit and watch in awe at these actors. I have no idea what’s going to come out the other side of it, but I’m very, very excited to see.”

Since he’s been on set for some of the filming but isn’t directly involved in the film, Osman is the best person to look to in order to gauge whether The Thursday Morning Club is worth the hype. The fact that he’s pumped to see the film after watching the creative team at work proves that potential viewers should get excited about the upcoming 2025 Netflix film.

Movie

My Favorite Movies
My Watchlist

Success!

01700766_poster_w780.jpg

Your Rating

close

10 stars

9 stars

8 stars

7 stars

6 stars

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Rate Now

0/10

Leave a Review

Your comment has not been saved

The Thursday Murder Club

Comedy

Crime

Mystery

Director

Chris Columbus

Writers

Katy Brand, Suzanne Heathcote, Richard Osman, Ol Parker, Adrian Wenner

Producers

Eleanor Columbus, Jennifer Todd

Cast

  • Headshot Of Pierce Brosnan

    Pierce Brosnan

    Elizabeth Best

  • Headshot Of Helen Mirren

    Helen Mirren

    Ron Ritchie

  • Headshot Of Ben Kingsley In The 2024 Vanity Fair Oscar Party

    Ben Kingsley

    Ibrahim Arif

  • Headshot Of Celia Imrie

    Celia Imrie

    Joyce Meadowcroft

Powered by

Expand
Collapse

Leave a Comment