Mystery solved: Tiffany Haddish has been cast as the lead in Netflix's upcoming adaptation of the neo-noir comic series, Mystery Girl. The comedian and actress is best known for scene-stealing performances on The Carmichael Show and in the movie, Girls Trip, the latter of which won Haddish a slew of awards for Best Supporting Actress.
As the title would suggest, Mystery Girl is a mystery graphic novel series from 2016 totaling four volumes. Trine Hampstead is an omniscient psychic with the ability to see everything happening in the present and beyond. Her only blind spots include the past ten years of her own life and the cause of her clairvoyance. Trine uses her powers to solve mysteries as a detective. The series is published by Dark Horse Comics, the same company behind a number of graphic novelizations, including adaptations of Star Wars, James Cameron's Avatar, and the video game, God of War. Mystery Girl is an original story illustrated by Alberto Albuquerque and Marissa Louise and written by Paul Tobin, who's previously worked on installments of popular series, including The Witcher, Prometheus, Marvel Adventures: Fantastic Four.
Coming Soon reports that Haddish will play Trine in a Netflix movie based on the comics, which the actress will also produce via her company, She Ready Productions. The Babysitter and Charlie's Angels director, McG, will direct and produce. Netflix acquired the rights to the story back in 2019 in its first-look deal with Dark Horse, following the streaming service's TV adaptation of The Umbrella Academy. Dark Horse Entertainment will also produce Mystery Girl along with Mary Viola of Wonderland Sound and Vision and executive producer, Melanie Clark.
Netflix will move the film's action from London and Siberia to Los Angeles, where Trine is working as a fortune teller on the street and keeping a low profile. The psychic gets involved with the LAPD when a hardboiled police officer named Cooper (not yet cast) consults her for help with a case. Cooper and Trine are framed for murder and must piece together Trine's past in order to solve her own case. Haddish has recently worked on a few projects with Netflix, including standup specials featuring both herself (Black Mitzvah) and other comedians (They Ready). Haddish also voiced one of two leads on Lisa Hanawalt's short-lived but well-received sitcom, Tuca & Bertie alongside Ali Wong.
Haddish's comedy output on stage and screen has been prolific lately, and it looks like the actress is ready to branch out into other genres. This isn't Haddish's first foray into the world of crime dramas, however: in 2019, she starred in The Kitchen with Elisabeth Moss and Melissa McCarthy, but the film only reached a small audience at the box office. Considering the gloomy, serious tone of most detective stories and the troubled backstories of Mystery Girl's characters, this movie is shaping up to be a gritty drama with little room for comic relief. As a standup comedian and sitcom vet, Haddish brings an on-screen presence to every role that's difficult to ignore. It will be exciting to watch Haddish in a context that's less familiar to fans, which will hopefully still allow the actress to shine.
Source: Coming Soon