‘Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Movie’ By Kyle Balda.
“Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Movie” will mark animation veteran Kyle Balda’s (Minions) debut live-action feature. A mystery comedy thriller starring Hugh Jackman, Emma Thompson and Nicholas Braun. It is based on the 2005 novel “Three Bags Full” by Leonie Swann. The adaptation was penned by Emmy winning writer Craig Mazin (Chernobyl). Amazon MGM will distribute the pic. Working Title Films will produce along with Phil Lord and Christopher Miller.
Amazon MGM has set a starry cast for this one; Hugh Jackman (Logan, The Prestige) and Emma Thompson (Harry Potter) were cast in the lead roles. In June, Nicholas Braun (Succession), Nicholas Galitzine (The Idea Of You), Molly Gordon (The Bear), Hong Chau (The Whale), Tosin Cole, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Conleth Hill and Mandeep Dhillon rounded out the cast.
Synopsis: The film follows George Hardy (Jackman), a shepherd who loves his sheep and raises them only for their wool. Every night he reads aloud a murder mystery, pretending his sheep can understand, never suspecting that not only can they understand but they argue for hours afterwards about whodunnit. When George is found dead under mysterious circumstances, the sheep realize at once that it was a murder and think they know everything about how to go about solving it. The local cop Tim Derry (Braun), on the other hand, has never solved a serious crime in his life, so the sheep conclude they will have to solve it themselves, even if it means leaving their meadow for the first time and facing the fact that the human world isn’t as simple as it appears in books.
In, March 2024, It was revealed that an adaptation of the detective novel was in development. Kyle Balda would direct the film and Craig Mazin (The Last Of Us) wrote the screenplay.
Marking Swann’s debut novel, “Three Bags Full” was published in Germany in 2005 under it’s original title “Glennkill”. The book became an instant hit and an international best seller, and winning Swann the prestigious Glauser Prize for crime fiction in the debut category, as well as a PETA Award. The author has published seven books total, including several more murder mysteries.
Visual effects company Framestore will create George’s flock of sheep. Their past credits include “Harry Potter” films, “Black Mirror” and Marvel movies.
Principal photography had begun by June 7, 2024 in London.
Best known for his work on hits such as “Minions: The Rise of Gru”, “Despicable Me 3” and “Minions”. Balda with “Three Bags Full” will make his live-action feature debut.
Writer Craig Mazin is known for creating, co-writing and executive producing HBO’s hit series “The last of Us” alongside Neil Druckmann. Mazin prior to that created, wrote and produced the Emmy-winning miniseries “Chernobyl”. Before breaking out in drama he was primarily known for his writing on comedic features like; “The Hangover Part II & III” and “Scary Movie 3 & 4”.
George Steel (Black Mirror: White Christmas, Heart of Stone) is the cinematographer chosen for the film.
Amazon MGM has set a worldwide theatrical release date of February 20, 2026.
