EXCLUSIVE: Ian McKellen (Lord of the Rings franchise), Michaela Coel (I May Destroy You), and James Corden (Gavin & Stacey) are set to star in The Christophers, the next film from Steven Soderbergh, which goes into production in London in February.

The Christophers is a dark comedy about the estranged children of a once-famous artist who hire a forger to complete his unfinished works so they can be discovered and sold after his death. Script is by Ed Solomon, Soderbergh’s collaborator on the 2021 crime thriller No Sudden Move, Max miniseries Full Circle, HBO murder mystery Mosaic (released as both a series and a mobile app), and Bill & Ted Face the Music (which Soderbergh exec produced).

Department M, run by Michael Schaefer and Mike Larocca, will finance the film, with Schaefer and Larocca to serve as executive producers. Schaefer comes to the project after collaborating with Soderbergh on his 2018 film Unsane during his time as President of New Regency.

Julian Sklar (Ian McKellen) was once a star of London’s 1960’s and 70’s pop art explosion, but he hasn’t painted in decades and has been broke for years. His two estranged children (James Corden, Jessica Gunning), desperate for an inheritance, hire Lori, an art restorer and former forger (Michaela Coel), to pose as a prospective assistant in order to access 8 unfinished canvases Julian has buried deep in storage. Her plan is to complete them, then return them to storage, where they are to be “discovered” upon Julian’s death.