Idris Elba to Star and Direct 'In Laws' for AFM Sales — SkimNews
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- In Laws follows Idris Elba as Carson Hughes, a blacklisted secret agent who gets a shot at redemption and must team with a young, by-the-book rookie to stop a deadly plot while racing toward a wedding neither can afford to miss.
- A Higher Standard is launching worldwide sales for In Laws ahead of AFM, with principal photography scheduled for March 2027 in Spain and additional casting in process.
- Idris Elba will produce In Laws with Gina Carter through 22Summers, alongside Jeffrey Greenstein of A Higher Standard and Mark Fasano of Nickel City Pictures.
- Jeffrey Greenstein, with Eshom & Ian Nelms, penned the screenplay, which is based on an original screenplay by Adrian Speckhert and Cory Hughes.
- In Laws will be Elba’s fourth feature as director, following Yardie (2018), Above the Below for Lionsgate (Dec. 4, 2026), and an untitled Apple Original Films project starring Wunmi Mosaku and Charlie Cox.
- Idris Elba said he and Gina Carter want to make movies that make people laugh and described buddy comedy as a genre they can put their own spin on; Greenstein called it a fun two-hander action comedy.
Why it matters: A Higher Standard’s AFM package is anchored by three Elba credits—he will star, direct and produce—with principal photography scheduled for March 2027 in Spain. The concrete asset behind the campaign is a fully attributed screenplay by Jeffrey Greenstein and Eshom & Ian Nelms, based on Adrian Speckhert and Cory Hughes’s original script.
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