Richard Osman Admits He Incorporated Thursday Murder Club Joke Into Upcoming Book

Speaking to Saturday Kitchen host Matt Tebbutt, Osman said: “I’ve only just started Thursday Murder Club 5, which means I’ve written ‘Thursday Murder Club 5’ at the top of the paper, which is half the job, to be honest!”

And it seems the Netflix film’s stellar cast is certainly on Osman’s mind, as he revealed: “But literally the first time, I was writing a scene with Ron, who is the Labour activist, and I had Pierce Brosnan in my head when I was just writing the first paragraph. And I was like, ‘Remember, that’s not who he is. He’s a person in your head.’

“So I had to, after spending the summer on set, forget that Helen Mirren, Celia Imrie and Pierce Brosnan, you know, were (in the cast).”

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He then added: “I do a little bit of it, where Ron and Ibrahim start the scene talking about their favourite Bond. And Ron says, ‘Oh, my favourite Bond is Pierce Brosnan.’ And I talked to Pierce Brosnan about it, and yeah, he approved!”

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Last week, it was confirmed that filming on Chris Columbus’ Thursday Murder Club has now wrapped. Of course, the film already has a legion of loyal fans who have read the original novel and are now eager to see Osman’s story come to life on screen.

The film will see Dame Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Celia Imrie and Sir Ben Kingsley play the four retirees at the centre of the story who come together to solve crimes from their retirement home.

The rest of the film’s cast also includes David Tennant, Naomi Ackie, Daniel Mays, Richard E Grant, Tom Ellis, Ingrid Oliver and Jonathan Pryce, so it’s safe to say that there’s a slew of top-tier acting talent to be discovered.

Osman announced that he had started work on the fifth installment in the Thurday Murder Club book series last month, posting a photo on Instagram of his notebook and marking the start of the process.

The franchise currently has four novels, including Osman’s debut novel, released in 2020, followed by The Man Who Died Twice in 2021, The Bullet That Missed in 2022, and The Last Devil to Die in 2023.

The Thursday Murder Club has not yet confirmed a release date.

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