John Patton Ford‘s feature debut “Emily The Criminal” won over critics in 2022 thanks to a riveting lead performance by Aubrey Plaza. But Deadline reports that Plaza won’t star in Ford’s upcoming series adaptation of the film, although she’ll still be involved as an executive producer.
Legendary Television will develop the series with Ford directing its entirety. He’ll also executive produce with Plaza, who does so through her Evil Hag Productions banner. Original film producers Tyler Davidson and Drew Sykes also return to finance through Low Spark Films. However, it’s a mystery if anyone else involved with ‘Emily The Criminal’ will be back creatively, including its cast. Theo Rossi, Megalyn Echikunwoke and Gina Gershon also starred in the 2022 film.
That begs the question: how can “Emily The Criminal” continue without Plaza? Ford will likely take his film’s general set-up and replace Plaza with another desperate person who resorts to black-market crimes to survive. The 2022 film followed Emily’s descent into “dummy shopping” (buying good with stolen credit cards) to make ends meet with student debt and a minor criminal record locking her out of the job market. Swept up in the lifestyle, she pals up with her middleman Youcef to plan how they might take their business to the next level, with disastrous results.
It’s a basic enough premise to attach a new character to and one that could develop into something more nuanced throughout an entire television season. But this project still sounds like it’s in early stages. And Ford currently has his hands full with “Huntington,” his upcoming thriller starring Glen Powell, Margaret Qualley, and Ed Harris, so don’t expect updates on “Emily The Criminal” for a while. Still, if any film could work as a show concept, it’s this one.