Lionsgate have acquired the film rights to upcoming Young Adult novel Thieves’ Gambit and have tapped Steven Caple Jr. (Creed II) to direct. Kayvion Lewis has written the book, a thriller that’s been generating plenty of buzz ahead of its 2023 publication.
Thieves’ Gambit revolves around a young woman, raised by her parents to be an expert thief, who must enter a dangerous, cutthroat competition that pits her against other young, talented thieves where the winner takes all.
Lewis, a 23-year-old librarian from Louisiana, saw her book acquired at auction for seven figures in a North American deal by Nancy Paulsen Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Simon & Schuster Children’s Books have acquired UK and Commonwealth rights, and series translation rights have sold in 14 territories to date.
Deadline reports that the film rights deal was also competitive and involved several studios and networks/streamers. Lewis will executive produce the movie as well, with Meredith Wieck and Jon Humphrey overseeing for Lionsgate and Wyck Godfrey, Isaac Klausner and Annika Patton producing for Temple Hill Entertainment.
Lionsgate president of production Erin Westerman said in a statement: “Thieves’ Gambit is a thrilling, wish-fulfilling, globetrotting adventure that will introduce the world to an iconic new heroine. Kayvion Lewis is a tremendous new talent, and we’re confident that Steven and our friends at Temple Hill and Hodson Exports will shepherd it into an electrifying movie.”
Caple Jr. made his feature directorial debut with 2016 drama The Land before securing the Creed II gig in 2018. He’s currently in post-production on Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, a sequel to 2018’s Bumblebee that’s currently scheduled to be released on June 9, 2023.
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