(news.bbc.co.uk) - Pierce Brosnan is to reprise his role as a master thief in the sequel to The Thomas Crown Affair, reports say.
The film will be set in Europe and the Middle East and will feature Crown caught up in a feud and at risk over love, according to trade paper Variety.
Rene Russo will not be returning as Crown's love interest and a new as-yet uncast character will feature instead.
Basic Instinct director Paul Verhoeven will take the helm when shooting begins in January.
The film reportedly originally had the working title of The Topkapi Affair, suggesting the plot could be a remake of Jules Dassin's Istanbul-set heist movie Topkapi.
Brosnan's 1999 hit version of The Thomas Crown Affair was a remake of the 1968 film starring Steve McQueen as a corporate tycoon who steals priceless works of art for kicks.