- Robbie’s LuckyChap Entertainment and Pitt’s Plan B production company have acquired the remake rights to the 1934 classic The Thin Man via The Wrap
- The rights to Dashiell Hammett’s iconic 1934 novel – considered by many to be one of the greatest detective novels ever – only recently became available
- There’s no word yet on whether Robbie, 33, and Pitt, 59, have any plans to star in the film themselves
After teaming up to star on the big screen in last year’s Babylon, Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt will team up as producers on the remake of The Thin Man.
Robbie’s LuckyChap Entertainment and Pitt’s Plan B production company have acquired the rights to the 1934 classic The Thin Man. The Wrap.
The rights to Dashiell Hammett’s iconic 1934 novel – considered by many to be one of the greatest detective novels ever – only recently became available.
There’s still no indication if Robbie, 33, and Pitt, 59, have any plans to star in the film themselves, though casting won’t be announced until after the SAG-AFTRA strike ends.
It’s possible they could star in the film – detective Nick Charles and his wife Nora – although that hasn’t been confirmed, as the project is said to be a modern retelling of the book.
Producer: After teaming up to star on the big screen in last year’s Babylon, Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt will team up as producers on the remake of The Thin Man
Producer Brad: Robbie’s LuckyChap Entertainment and Pitt’s Plan B production company have acquired the rights to the 1934 classic The Thin Man via The Wrap
The action takes place in New York on Christmas Day 1932, during the last days of Prohibition, following Nick, who meets the daughter of a former client.
She enlists his help in trying to track down her father, though the plot thickens when her father’s secretary and ex-lover is murdered.
Shortly after the book’s publication in 1934, Hammett signed a film deal, with a faithful adaptation of the book being filmed in just 14 days and released five months after the novel was published.
William Powell and Myrna Loy played Nick and Nora, while Maureen O’Sullivan played the daughter of a former client, Dorothy.
While Hammett would never write another novel before his death in 1961 at the age of 66, the writer would eventually write the screenplays for two film sequels – 1936’s After the Thin Man and 1939’s Another Thin Man.
Those scripts for the sequels were later revealed in 2011 along with instructions from Hammett to include material from screenwriters Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich.
The results eventually became a 2012 book of short stories called The Return of the Thin Man.
There would eventually be three more sequels – 1941’s Shadow of the Thin Man, 1945’s The Thin Man Goes Home, and 1947’s Song of the Thin Man.
Story: Set in New York on Christmas Day 1932, during the last days of Prohibition, following Nick, who meets the daughter of a former client
Nick and Nora: William Powell (left) and Myrna Loy (centre) starred as Nick and Nora, with Maureen O’Sullivan playing former client’s daughter Dorothy
TV Series: The franchise continued with the 1957 NBC TV series The Thin Man, starring Peter Lawford and Phyllis Kirk as Nick and Nora
The franchise continued with the 1957 NBC TV series The Thin Man, starring Peter Lawford and Phyllis Kirk as Nick and Nora.
The series lasted just two seasons of 72 episodes and was the last adaptation of Hammett’s seminal work for decades.
A remake of The Thin Man has been in the works for a long time, with Warner Bros. recently held the rights, although nothing has progressed.
Pitt and Robbie starred in last year’s Babylon, and Pitt also produced Robbie’s 2019 film Bombshell.