Jessica Chastain spy thriller 355, also starring Penelope Cruz, Lupita Nyong'o to release on 15 January, 2021

Jessica Chastain -led spy thriller 355 has received a release date of 15 January, 2021. According to The Hollywood Reporter , the Universal Pictures-backed film is directed by Simon Kinberg. Theresa Rebeck has penned the screenplay.

Besides Chastain, the film’s cast also includes Lupita Nyong’o , Fan Bingbing, Penelope Cruz and Diane Kruger. Marrion Cotillard was replaced by Kruger after she exited the filming due to personal reasons, reports THR. The story revolves around five spies from agencies around the world who form their own team, dubbed 355.

Chastain and Kelly Carmichael’s Freckle Films will produce the project alongside Kinberg’s banner Kinberg Genre. Richard Hewitt will executive produce.

The film was announced back in May last year, but the fate of the film was put in doubt when Fan was accused of  tax evasion . Rumours suggested that the Chinese superstar was held by Chinese government. Soon after, the actress disappeared from the public eye until she  re-emerged in October  admitting that she had evaded taxes and apologised to her fans. She was reportedly ordered by authorities to pay nearly $130 million in back taxes, penalties and interest.

Although she was not officially banned in the country, her career suffered a major blow in China.

According to Collider , she came up with the film’s idea while filming Zero Dark Thirty. “Agent 355 was the code name of a female spy during the American Revolution. She was one of the very first spies for the United States, and her identity is still unknown. For a lot of women who work in the CIA and other organizations like that, Code 355 is a universal slang term for female spy. It’s the invisible woman who was never named,” she said.

(With inputs from Press Trust of India)