On the BBC, author Richard Osman said he would be having nothing to do with the production because producer Steven Spielberg made E.T.: O Extraterrestre (1982) and if he did that he knows how to make a film. He said this was the first of four books featuring the characters in The Thursday Murder Club. The second, The Man Who Died Twice, was released in September 2021.
Richard Osman announced on his podcast 'The Rest is Entertainment' that Jonathan Pryce will play Elizabeth's husband Stephen and that Naomi Ackie will play police officer Donna de Freitas. He also confirmed the casting of David Tennant, Daniel Mays and Henry Lloyd-Hughes in undisclosed roles.
Osman has stated that he does not wish to be too involved in the film's production, as he would rather focus on his next series of books.
In the novel, Joyce mentions the idea of watching a re-run of A Principal Evidência (1991) on TV. Helen Mirren (who plays Elizabeth in the film) had starred as the lead in that series.
This is Pierce Brosnan's third collaboration with Chris Columbus, first was Uma Babá Quase Perfeita (1993) and second was Percy Jackson e o Ladrão de Raios (2010).