Jeremy Irons, Matthias Schoenaerts Joining Jennifer Lawrence’s ‘Red Sparrow’

The “honey trap” has long been a staple in spy fiction for nearly a century. The femme fatale trained in the art of seduction acting as a double agent vs. the aloof, professional spy whose only weakness is a great pair of legs or eyes or nostrils or whatever. Red Sparrow, based on the novel of the same name by veteran CIA officer Jason Matthews, brings this kind of film noir tale into the modern day: Jennifer Lawrence will play Russian intelligence officer Dominkia Egorova, who becomes a sort of reluctant Mata Hari and is assigned to handle an American CIA agent. The Hunger Games’ Francis Lawrence is directing, and the film just cast Jeremy Irons and Matthias Schoenaerts.

The Hollywood Reporter has the scoop, but we’re not sure who Irons and Schoenaerts will be playing yet. Joel Edgerton was also cast in the picture a few months ago to star opposite Lawrence, which could mean that he’ll be playing American CIA agent Nathaniel Nash. I could definitely see Irons as a steely Russian secret agent type, and Schoenaerts has a mysterious, inscrutable look about him. 

In present-day Russia, ruled by blue-eyed, unblinking President Vladimir Putin, Russian intelligence officer Dominika Egorova struggles to survive in the post-Soviet intelligence jungle. Ordered against her will to become a “Sparrow,” a trained seductress, Dominika is assigned to operate against Nathaniel Nash, a young CIA officer who handles the Agency’s most important Russian mole.

The two, obviously, fall for each other, compromising not only their careers but the fate of Russian-American relations! Really puts casual Tinder dating in perspective. The novel is the first of a trilogy, so if this takes off, we can expect a few more Red Sparrow films in the coming years.