Richard Osman admits he has incorporated the Thursday Murder Club movie joke into his next book

Speaking to Saturday Kitchen host Matt Tebbutt, Osman said: “I've only just started 'Thursday Murder Club 5'. By that I mean I've written 'Thursday Murder Club 5' at the top of the newspaper. To be honest, that's half the job!”

And it seems that Osman is certainly thinking about the Netflix film's star-studded cast, as he revealed: “But the first time I wrote a scene with Ron, the Labour activist, and from the very first paragraph I had Pierce Brosnan in my head. And I thought, 'Remember, that's not who he is. He's a person in your head.'

“So after spending the summer being on set, I had to forget that Helen Mirren, Celia Imrie and Pierce Brosnan, you know, [the cast].”

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He then added: “I do a little scene where Ron and Ibrahim start the scene and talk about who their favourite Bond is. And Ron says, 'Oh, my favourite Bond is Pierce Brosnan.' And I told Pierce Brosnan and yes, he agreed!”

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Just last week, it was confirmed that Thursday Murder Club, directed by Chris Columbus, has now wrapped filming. Of course, the film already has a loyal following of existing fans who have read the original novel and can't wait to see the Osman story brought to life on screen.

In the film, stars such as Dame Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Celia Imrie and Sir Ben Kingsley take on the roles of the four pensioners who are at the centre of the story and who solve crimes together 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 lot of outstanding acting talent to look forward to.

Osman hinted that he had begun work on the fifth installment in the Thursday Murder Club book series last month, posting a picture of his notebook on Instagram, marking the start of the process.

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

The release date for “The Thursday Murder Club” has not yet been set.

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