Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer has signed Paul Verhoeven to direct romantic thriller The Thomas Crown Affair 2, Rick Sands, MGM’s Chief Operating Officer, announced today.
The Dutch director, who recently adopted a more serious tone for his epic war story Black Book, is best know for attracting controversy thanks to the sex and violence in his films, including Basic Instinct and RoboCop.
The next installment of the Thomas Crown franchise - which, reading between the lines of the press release, will see Pierce Brosnan reprise his role as an upperclass thief - sweeps across Europe and the Middle East as Crown becomes entangled in a centuries old feud and must decide how much he’s truly willing to risk for love.
MGM and Irish DreamTime will produce the film. Pierce Brosnan and Beau St Clair will serve as producers for Irish DreamTime along with D. Constantine Conte. The production date is still to be determined.
Sands said: "Thomas Crown is a rich blend of dramatic tension, high adventure, romance and just the right touch of humor.
"Paul's body of work demonstrates his ability to deftly combine those elements while telling a story that keeps audiences on the edge of their seats. His directorial talents complement Pierce's portrayal of the Thomas Crown character and we're all looking forward to an engaging and entertaining film."
St Clair added: "MGM came to us after the first film with the idea that Thomas Crown was an intriguing, modern character worthy of a franchise.
"So Pierce and I talked a lot about how to continue his story in a different and surprising way. Given our ambitions, to put Crown in an international setting with a bigger set of challenges, we couldn’t have found a more ideal director than Paul Verhoeven."
Brosnan said: "Paul is on board to make a sexy, intelligent film and we’re very pleased to be working with him and also pleased to be continuing our partnership with MGM."
Verhoeven added: "I love to tease the audience, to challenge their expectations for characters and storylines.
"This movie provides an incredible opportunity to push and pull the audience, whether through intense action and suspense or light-handed humor."
MGM is continuing to build its extensive film library with fresh instalments of its tent pole franchises. Currently, Pink Panther 2, starring Steve Martin, has wrapped production, and the 22nd installment of the James Bond franchise starring Daniel Craig will commence production shortly.
