Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

Fox looking to lock down Joel Edgerton for spy thriller starring Jennifer Lawrence

Joel Edgerton in Black Mass.
Warner Bros. Picture / Warner Bros. Picture
Joel Edgerton may join Jennifer Lawrence’s ever-growing list of talented co-stars. The actor is in talks to star opposite the Oscar winner in Fox’s upcoming spy thriller Red Sparrow, reports Deadline. The film is an adaptation of the 2013 novel of the same name.

Written by Jason Matthews, the book centers on two modern-day intelligence officers: Russia’s Dominika Egorova and American CIA agent Nathaniel Nash. The two operatives’ paths cross when Dominika, a trained seductress, is assigned to work against Nathaniel as he attempts to gather Russian intelligence. Complicating both of their jobs is the fact that they have a strong mutual attraction.

Recommended Videos

The role seems like a good fit for Edgerton, who, like his prospective co-star, has a string of credits in acclaimed films to his name. The Australian actor has amassed a large body of work over the years, including notable roles in Zero Dark Thirty, 2013’s The Great Gatsby, and Black Mass. He will next appear alongside Ruth Negga in Loving, which has already sparked buzz about possible Oscar contention.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

While Edgerton is clearly talented in his own right, joining forces with Lawrence seems like a smart move. The actress has repeatedly drawn awards show attention for her work, as have her co-stars, which bodes well for Edgerton. The two would be directed by Francis Lawrence, who worked with Jennifer Lawrence on three of the four Hunger Games films.

The Red Sparrow script was written by American Hustle screenwriter Eric Warren, and then later rewritten by Justin Haythe, who penned 2013’s The Lone Ranger. The film is being produced by Chernin Entertainment, with Steve Zaillian and Garret Basch serving as executive producers.

A timeline for the thriller’s release has not yet been announced.

Stephanie Topacio Long
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Stephanie Topacio Long is a writer and editor whose writing interests range from business to books. She also contributes to…
Hawkeye co-star Tony Dalton says he’s back for Daredevil: Born Again
Tony Dalton in a promo poster for Hawkeye.

Tony Dalton played a fearsome villain on Better Call Saul, but the veteran actor had a considerably lighter role as Jack Duquesne in the Marvel Studios original series Hawkeye. Now, Dalton has confirmed that he'll be back as Jack in Daredevil: Born Again.

Via Total Film, Dalton shared an Instagram Story with a picture of himself from Hawkeye alongside an image of Jack Duquesne's comic-book counterpart, The Swordsman, with the logo for Daredevil: Born Again on top of both pics. He also wrote "It's on!," but didn't elaborate beyond that. It's also unclear if Dalton meant he will appear this season, or in the second season that will begin filming soon.

Read more
‘Peaky Blinders’ creator says he expects parts of Rey ‘Star Wars’ script to make the final cut
Daisy Ridley as Rey in The Rise of Skywalker.

In a franchise with as many moving pieces as Star Wars, it's perhaps not a huge surprise that many of the projects set in this universe churn through quite a few writers. When a spin-off movie focused on Daisy Ridley's Rey was first announced, Damon Lindelof and Justin Britt-Gibson were brought in as the film's writers. They left the project in March of 2023, and Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight was brought in after them.

Knight left the project in October of 2024, but before that, he spoke with The Telegraph about the film, and what it's like to be part of the massive machine surrounding Star Wars.

Read more
Lupin’s Omar Sy will star in Netflix’s Extraction series
Omar Sy in Lupin.

The action movie Extraction and its sequel, Extraction 2, both did extremely well for Netflix when they were released in 2020 and 2023, respectively. While there's currently no word about whether Chris Hemsworth will come back for a third Extraction film, Netflix is keeping the franchise alive by developing an Extraction series featuring Omar Sy in the lead.

As reported by Variety, Extraction will maintain continuity with the two films that came before it. The franchise is based upon Ciudad, a graphic novel by writer and artist Ande Parks. Sy hasn't appeared in either of the two Extraction movies, so he will presumably be playing a new character for the show.

Read more