Jared Leto, John Mulaney and Lupita Nyong’o to Star in True-Life Caper ‘Lunik Heist’

Jared Leto, John Mulaney and Lupita Nyong’o have signed on to star in Lunik Heist, a dramedy caper that Kemp Powers will direct for Searchlight Pictures, the Disney-owned division said Friday.

The script, written by Powers, is inspired by the true story of the American government’s plot to steal a Soviet spacecraft during a 1959 expo in Mexico City. The script is based on an article by Jeff Maysh, published in MIT Technology Review.

The events saw the CIA, in wanting to find out the scientific capabilities of the Soviets, intercept and abscond with a space probe, study its secrets and return it without the other side knowing what had occurred. The heist remained a secret until it was declassified in 2019.

Leto and Emma Ludbrook are producing under their Paradox banner, along with Mark Johnson for Gran Via Productions. Maysh will serve as an executive producer.

In making the project’s announcement, Searchlight Pictures president Matthew Greenfield praised the “extraordinary talents of Jared, Lupita, and John” and “visionary Kemp,”  describing Lunik Heist as “a wild, roller-coaster ride, filled with subterfuge and unlikely heroes.”

Director of development Zahra Phillips will oversee the project for Searchlight Pictures, reporting to head of production and development DanTram Nguyen.

The players behind the project have plenty of statuettes and frameworthy certificates between them.

Powers previously worked as a director on the acclaimed animated films Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and Pixar’s Soul, which won the best animated Oscar in 2021. He penned One Night in Miami…, adapting his 2013 stage play of the same name, and earned a best adapted screenplay Oscar nomination in the process.

Leto earned the Oscar for best supporting actor for his performance in Dallas Buyers Club. His recent credits include Blade Runner 2049, The Little Things, and House of Gucci. He next stars in Tron: Ares.

Mulaney is a three-time Emmy Award, Critics Choice award and WGA award-winning writer, comedian and actor. A former writer on Saturday Night Live, he has hosted the show five times, and will make his sixth appearance this weekend.

Nyong’o won an Academy Award for her performance in Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave released by Searchlight Pictures. She recently voiced the lead in DreamWorks Animation’s hit The Wild Robot and starred in this summer’s A Quiet Place: Day One. She made her Broadway debut in Eclipsed and will next be seen as Viola in the Public Theater’s production of The Twelfth Night.

Powers is repped by WME, Media Talent Group and Johnson Shapiro. Leto and Mulaney are repped by WME, while Nyong’o is repped by CAA, and Del Shaw.