When he burst onto the big screen back in the late ‘90s, Guy Ritchie changed British crime cinema forever – bringing his own distinctive look and feel to a genre with a long tradition. From there, he’s moved into blockbusters, mythical territory, and all-out hardman action tales. And next, he’s trying something new: the small screen. As well as his upcoming features (he has two films, including The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare, already in the can, as well as plans for a new fantasy movie beyond that), Ritchie is bringing the world of his 2019 film The Gentlemen to TV, in a Netflix series handily also titled The Gentlemen.
While the likes of Lock Stock and Snatch had TV spin-offs, they were light on Ritchie’s involvement. Here, he’s deeply involved, writing and directing and executive producing. And, as he tells Empire in the upcoming Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire issue, he’s taken to the medium of television smoothly – getting loose and luxuriating in the opportunities it offers. “You’re allowed to tell a lot of story, [which] lends itself to my creative disposition,” he says. “A lot of it I just write on the day according to who’s there and what feels organic, spontaneous and fun.”
The series revolves around a fresh cast of characters, led by Theo James’ Eddie – a soldier-turned-aristocrat, whose manor plays host to a weed farm that holds interest for Kaya Scodelario’s drug boss Susie. Around the pair is a sprawling crew of distinctly Ritchian creations – and the filmmaker is relishing the extra time he’s getting to spend with them. “Once you’ve created them, you feel as though you can roll around in them and enjoy them for a bit longer, rather than just wrapping them up tidily in two hours,” he says. It’s clear that television appeals to him. “I like the world of longform, so I think I will be doing a couple of other things in TV,” he teases. Get ready for an all-new kind of Guy Ritchie experience.
Read Empire’s full story on The Gentlemen series in the March 2024 issue, on sale Thursday 18 January. Pre-order a copy online here. The Gentlemen comes to Netflix later this year.