Tom Hardy, Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan Circling Guy Ritchie Series

Tom Hardy, Helen Mirren and Pierce Brosnan are all now associated with “The Associate,” as the trio of British actors are in final talks to star in the Paramount+ series from Guy Ritchie and Ronan Bennett.

The project had initially been developed with the title “The Donovans,” with plans to function as an across-the-pond spin-off of the Showtime series “Ray Donovan,” which was led by Liev Schreiber for seven seasons and a film adaptation. However, it has been reworked into a standalone series with no connections to that franchise.

The one-hour gangster drama series comes from Showtime, MTV Studios and 101 Studios. As reported by Variety in February, Bennett is fully writing the series and Ritchie will direct. Both also serve as executive producers, alongside David C. Glasser, Ron Burkle, Bob Yari, David Hutkin and Ivan Atkinson.

Bennett is the creator of the British crime series “Top Boy” and has written novels including “The Catastrophist,” “Overthrown by Strangers” and “Havoc, in Its Third Year,” as well as the screenplay for the Michael Mann feature “Public Enemies.” He also produced and wrote Sky and Peacock’s upcoming series adaptation “The Day of the Jackal,” starring Eddie Redmayne and Lashana Lynch.

“The Associate” represents Ritchie’s latest television project after creating the Netflix series “The Gentlemen,” starring Theo James. An adaptation of his 2019 crime feature of the same name, the series has been renewed for a second season after debuting on the streamer this spring. He has also directed features such as this year’s “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare” and “Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant,” “Snatch,” “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” and Disney’s live-action “Aladdin.”

Deadline was first to report on the casting talks.