Netflix acquired worldwide distribution rights to Jack of Spades, Joel Coen's gothic period mystery, multiple outlets reported Monday. The streamer plans a theatrical release in fall 2027, setting the film up for a major awards campaign in the following season.
The film adapts Frances Frederica Montrésor's 1901 novel The Alien: A Story of Middle Age, relocating its story to late 19th-century Scotland. The screenplay was co-written by Coen with his brother Ethan Coen, Booker Prize-winning novelist Eleanor Catton, and playwright Conor McPherson. The cast includes Josh O'Connor, Patsy Ferran, Lesley Manville, Damian Lewis, and Frances McDormand.
Longtime Coen collaborator Bruno Delbonnel shot the film, with a score from Carter Burwell. The picture screened for potential buyers in August 2026 in a nearly 150-minute cut, according to reports at the time.
The deal marks Coen's second solo feature since the end of his filmmaking partnership with Ethan Coen. The Tragedy of Macbeth launched that chapter in 2021. Jack of Spades arrives five years later with considerably more star power and a distribution partner ready to campaign it.
Netflix is simultaneously pushing La Bola Negra in the current awards cycle. Both films are positioned as prestige bets on consecutive seasons. Fall 2027 will determine how seriously the industry takes the pattern.
