Best known as a two-time Oscar-nominated actress, Jessica Chastain has been steadily building up her producing resume. And she’s got a hell of a project lined up. The “Molly’s Game” star has assembled a powerhouse cast for a spy thriller that she’ll act in and produce. Joining Chastain on-screen in “355” are Penelope Cruz, Lupita Nyong’o, Marion Cotillard, and Fan Bingbing.
Chastain often speaks out about the importance of fostering a more inclusive industry and this project is yet another example of how she’s making that happen.
A press release from Chastain’s production company, Freckle Films, announced the news.
Based on an original idea by Chastain, “‘355’ is a globe-trotting adventure that flips the spy genre upside-down,” according to its official synopsis. Chastain, Cruz, Nyong’o, Cotillard, and Fan’s characters “must bond together, overcoming their suspicions and conflicts, to use all their considerable talents and training to stop a global organization from acquiring a weapon that could thrust our teetering world into total chaos. Along the way, these strangers and enemies become comrades and friends, and a new faction is formed — code-named ‘355’ (a name they adopt from the first female spy in the American Revolution).”
Chastain is re-teaming with her “X-Men: Dark Phoenix” director Simon Kinberg on the project. That pic hits theaters February 14, 2019.
“Smash” creator Theresa Rebeck penned the script.
Freckle Films’ Chastain and Kelly Carmichael will produce alongside Kinberg under his Kinberg Genre banner.
“355” will be introduced to buyers at Cannes.
“Some of my greatest experiences are being part of an ensemble, both on stage as well as in films. I see creating something like ‘355’ as an opportunity and privilege to assemble a diverse group of women, all of whom have greatly influenced the film industry through their work, to join together equally and explore the badass world of international espionage and thrillers,” said Chastain. “I have always loved films in this genre: ‘Three Days of the Condor,’ the ‘Jason Bourne’ franchise to the ‘Bond’ films, and having the opportunity to create this world with these stellar actresses and Simon Kinberg is truly a dream.”
The #TimesUp supporter emphasized that “the action genre has long been dominated by male heroes, and it’s so exciting to be part of a film that will allow for not just one female action hero but a whole ensemble of very capable, fierce female characters that reject tired stereotypes. Characters that liberate from the confines of stereotypical traits,” she told Deadline. “That is something that excited me about this, the opportunity to create different types of female heroes.”
Kinberg added, “This is a story of friendship, partnership, it’s a story of strangers and enemies coming together against all odds and obstacles. As radical as it is to make a spy film that focuses on female spies, it’s equally revolutionary to make a movie about agents from different nations coming together as one. It’s something I’ve never seen, and it’s something that I believe will be not only incredibly entertaining for today’s global audience, but also something inspiring for an increasingly divided world.”
Chastain earned Oscar nods for her roles in “Zero Dark Thirty” and “The Help.” Behind the camera, she’s served as exec producer on titles such as “The Zookeeper’s Wife” and doc “I am Jane Doe.” Her upcoming producing gigs include “Seducing Ingrid Bergman,” a drama depicting the romance between the “Casablanca” actress and war photographer Robert Capa, comic adaptation “Painkiller Jane,” and a holiday comedy with Octavia Spencer. She’ll also star in the films.
You can catch Chastain next in “Woman Walks Ahead.” Set to hit theaters June 29, the drama tells the story of painter Catherine Weldon and Chief Sitting Bull (Michael Greyeyes).
