The Thomas Crown Affair Trailer Has Me Nervous in the Best Way

Michael B. Jordan is directing, producing, and starring in a new Thomas Crown Affair, and I’m equal parts thrilled and protective of the movie I already love.

I’ve loved Michael B. Jordan since Friday Night Lights.

Yes, I know he was on The Wire first. I didn’t binge that show until embarrassingly recently, so Vince Howard was my real introduction to him. I’ve been rooting for Jordan ever since, through Fruitvale Station, Creed, Black Panther, and Sinners, plus pretty much everything else he’s touched.

So when I heard he was taking on The Thomas Crown Affair, my first reaction was: absolutely.

My second reaction was: please don’t hurt one of my favorite movies.

The Thomas Crown Affair I Already Love

I’ve never actually seen the original 1968 film with Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway, though I keep meaning to fix that.

The 1999 remake with Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo, though? I love that movie.

It’s stylish and clever, with a sophistication that tips over into showing off. Brosnan and Russo spend the entire runtime circling each other, both fully aware that the other is probably lying. The heist matters, sure, but the real pleasure is watching two smart people flirt through suspicion and bad decisions. Recreating that exact chemistry is the hard part of any remake.

Michael B. Jordan Looks Right at Home

The first trailer for Jordan’s version is slick and gorgeous, with the kind of luxury that makes crime look wildly inconvenient but undeniably glamorous.

There are museums, expensive suits, dangerous stunts, fast cars, dramatic scenery, and security systems that clearly underestimated Thomas Crown.

Jordan looks at home as the wealthy, fearless mastermind who decided ordinary billionaire hobbies weren’t stimulating enough. Golf was right there, Thomas.

Adria Arjona (Andor) plays the investigator trying to catch him, and the trailer doesn’t waste time establishing that she can match him. Their dynamic looks sharp and suspicious, with enough heat that I actually believe these two people might ruin each other. A Thomas Crown Affair without real chemistry is just an elaborate story about insurance paperwork.

The cast is rounded out by Kenneth Branagh (Death on the Nile), Lily Gladstone (Killers of the Flower Moon), Danai Gurira (The Walking Dead), and Pilou Asbæk (Game of Thrones), so Jordan surrounded himself with people who know how to hold a scene.

This Doesn’t Feel Like a Random Remake

What makes me most optimistic is how long Jordan has apparently wanted to make this movie. He’s talked about watching the 1999 version as a kid and thinking about his own take on it ever since (same!).

While introducing footage at CinemaCon, he said he wanted to bring together the style, the sophistication, and the rebellion of the earlier films, while giving Crown a real, personal mission this time around.

The tagline, “Revenge is a work of art,” suggests this Crown isn’t stealing purely because he’s rich, bored, and bright. His heists appear to center on recovering art and artifacts that were stolen, misappropriated, or sold off illegitimately.

That gives all the beautiful criminal behavior a more complicated purpose. He’s still a billionaire stealing priceless objects, but at least the movie seems aware that a charming billionaire hero needs a little more justification these days.

Am I Ready for Another Thomas Crown?

I’m still a little nervous.

Remakes can nail every recognizable surface detail and still miss the pulse of what makes the previous versions great. The 1999 Thomas Crown Affair didn’t stick with people because Brosnan looked good in a suit, although that certainly didn’t hurt. It stuck because Brosnan and Russo’s chemistry, and nobody, including the characters, was ever sure of the outcome.

The new trailer seems to get that. The elegance is there. So is the danger, and the slow-burn cat-and-mouse chemistry. And it’s got Michael B. Jordan directing, producing, and starring, which is basically a stamp of quality on its own.

The Thomas Crown Affair arrives in theaters March 5, 2027. Watch the official trailer below: