Jared Leto, John Mulaney & Lupita Nyong’o Team Up For Kemp Powers’ Soviet Spaceship ‘Lunik Heist’ At Searchlight

Two-time Oscar nominee Kemp Powers is directing and writing Lunik Heist for Searchlight Pictures, a project which will star Oscar winner Jared Leto, Emmy winner John Mulaney, and Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o.

The movie is inspired by the audacious true story of the American government’s plot to steal a Soviet spacecraft during a 1959 exposition in Mexico City. The script is based on Jeff Maysh’s article in the MIT Technology Review. Maysh serves as EP. Leto and Emma Ludbrook are producing under their Paradox banner, along with Mark Johnson for Gran Via Productions. 

Director of Development Zahra Phillips is shepherding the project for Searchlight Pictures, reporting to Head of Production and Development DanTram Nguyen. Start of production and theatrical release will be announced down the road.

“We’re so thrilled to bring together such an exceptional team,” said President of Searchlight Pictures Matthew Greenfield. “With the extraordinary talents of Jared, Lupita, and John, led by the visionary Kemp, Lunik Heist is a wild, roller-coaster ride, filled with subterfuge and unlikely heroes.”

Powers was Oscar-nominated for Best Animated feature for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse as well as Best Adapted Screenplay for One Night in Miami… based on his original play about one incredible night when Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X, Sam Cooke, and Jim Brown gathered in a hotel room to discuss their roles in the Civil Rights Movement and cultural upheaval of the 60s. Powers co-directed Pixar’s Soul as well as Spider-Man: Across the Universe which grossed close to $691M at the global box office. Powers is represented by WME, Media Talent Group and Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole.

Leto won Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Dallas Buyers Club. His feature credits include Blade Runner 2049, The Little Things, House of Gucci and Disney’s upcoming Tron: Ares, in which he and Ludbrook also produce through their production company Paradox. They also executive produced WeCrashed for Apple TV+ in which Leto starred opposite Anne Hathaway. Leto is represented by WME.

Former SNL scribe, stand-up comedian and actor, Mulaney is a 3x Emmy Award, Critics Choice award and WGA award-winning writer, comedian and actor. Most recently, Mulaney created and hosted Netflix’s John Mulaney Presents: Everybody’s in LA, a six-night live comedy series that will return next year.  Mulaney’s latest Netflix stand-up special, BABY J, earned him an Emmy win for Outstanding Writing For A Variety Special. He will return to Broadway at the end of the year in All In: Comedy About Love, alongside a cast including Fred Armisen, Richard Kind and Renee Elise Goldsberry. He is repped by WME.

Nyong’o won an Oscar for her turn in Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave for Searchlight Pictures. Other credits include The Wild Robot, Black Panther, Us, Queen of Katwe, Little Monsters and A Quiet Place: Day One. She won an Emmy Award for the Netflix series Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices, in which she reads her New York Times bestselling children’s book, Sulwe. Nyong’o is represented by CAA and Del Shaw Moonves Tanaka Finkelstein Lezcano Bobb & Dang.