Lupita Nyong’o, Jared Leto, and John Mulaney, will try to steal a Soviet spacecraft in Kemp Powers’ Lunik Heist

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse director Kemp Powers recruits Jared Leto, Lupita Nyong’o, and John Mulaney for his Lunik Heist drama.

Kemp Powers is adding serious star power to his upcoming feature film Lunik Heist, which will star Jared Leto (Gucci, Morbius, Tron: Ares), Lupita Nyong’o (Us, The Wild Robot, Little Monsters), and John Mulaney (Big Mouth, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Chip’ n Dale: Rescue Rangers). Powers directs Lunik Heist from his own script based on actual events. The story orbits around the American government’s plot to steal a Soviet spacecraft during a 1959 exposition in Mexico City. Jeff Maysh’s MIT Technology Review article inspires the screenplay, with Maysh executive producing. In addition to his starring role, Jared Leto produces alongside Emma Ludbrook via the duo’s Paradox studio with Mark Johnson for Gran Via Productions.

“We’re so thrilled to bring together such an exceptional team,” said Matthew Greenfield, the President of Searchlight Pictures. “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.”

After directing one of my Top 10 animated films, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Kemp Powers is a force to be reckoned with. Beyond shooting Miles Morales’ sophomore animated feature, Kemp wrote Pixar’s underrated 2020 animated film Soul, starring Jamie Foxx as Joe, a middle-school band teacher whose life hasn’t quite gone the way he expected. His true passion is jazz. But when he travels to another realm to help someone find their passion, he soon discovers what it means to have soul.

In the live-action arena, Kemp Powers wrote One Night in Miami…, a fictional account of one incredible night when icons Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X, Sam Cooke, and Jim Brown gathered to discuss their roles in the Civil Rights Movement and cultural upheaval of the 1960s. The powerful drama stars Kingsley Ben-Adir as Malcolm X, Aldis Hodge as Jim Brown, Leslie Odom Jr. as Sam Cooke, Eli Goree as Cassius Clay, and the late and great Lance Reddick as Kareem X.

For more details about Lunik Heist, check out Maysh’s MIT Technology Review article. What do you think about pairing Jared Leto, Lupita Nyong’o, and John Mulaney for this tale of deception and one-upmanship? Let us know in the comments below.

About the Author

Born and raised in New York, then immigrated to Canada, Steve Seigh has been a JoBlo.com editor, columnist, and critic since 2012. He started with Ink & Pixel, a column celebrating the magic and evolution of animation, before launching the companion YouTube series Animation Movies Revisited. He’s also the host of the Talking Comics Podcast, a personality-driven audio show focusing on comic books, film, music, and more. You’ll rarely catch him without headphones on his head and pancakes on his breath.