Jessica Chastain, Lupita Nyong’o, Marion Cotillard, & More To Lead Spy Thriller ‘355’

Maybe we should stop worrying about X-Men: Dark Phoenix? Because star Jessica Chastain has quickly set up a reunion with her direction, Simon Kinberg, on an espionage thriller with a cast of talented ladies that might give Ocean’s 8 a run for its money.

Chastain has announced she will star in 355, a Bourne-style spy flick that will co-star Penelope Cruz, Marion Cotillard, Lupita Nyong’o, and Fan Bingbing. Daaaamn!!!  Kinberg will direct from a script by Theresa Rebeck, and it sounds like Chastain has been dreaming this one up for a while. She tells Deadline

“I had so much fun working on ‘The Help’ that I always wanted to do another female ensemble film. I love the ‘Bourne’ movies, the ‘Mission: Impossible’ films and wondered why, except for ‘Charlie’s Angels,’ there hadn’t been a true female ensemble action thriller spy film. That got my wheels going, along with the idea of casting actresses from all over the world to truly make it an international project. I realized the incredible creative freedom we would have with that. I brought the idea to Simon, told him about the actresses I was thinking of, and he was so sweet. He said, ‘I want to do it with you.’”


The Y: the Last Man fan in me quickly thought of that comic’s lead character, Agent 355, and quietly hoped this was some kind of movie spinoff. Unfortunately, ‘355’ is pretty much universal slang for a female spy, and originated with a female spy during the American Revolution. This is all stuff Chastain learned while on the set of Zero Dark Thirty, sparking her to the idea of making a movie like this. 

Kinberg adds, “We are hoping to create a franchise with this, and the first film will be the agents coming together.”


Well I don’t know about you but I’ve found my all-female Avengers movie right here.