Janelle Monáe to star in a $40 Million Heist adaptation

Janelle Monáe will star in the film based on Tanya Smith's memoir about masterminding heists and outsmarting the FBI.

Universal Pictures has secured the film rights to Tanya Smith's memoir Never Saw Me Coming: How I Outsmarted the FBI and the Entire Banking System — and Pocketed $40 Million.

Janelle Monáe is set to star in the adaptation, which she will also produce through her company, Wondaland Pictures. Smith, who will serve as an executive producer on the project, is known for masterminding a series of high-profile heists that were described as one of the greatest threats to the U.S. banking system.

The memoir, which blends heist thriller elements with a critique of systemic injustice, chronicles Smith’s rise from a teenage hacker to a notorious financial mastermind. By the age of 18, Smith had already pulled off a string of heists, accumulating millions of dollars while evading the authorities. The FBI, initially skeptical of a Black woman being capable of such sophisticated crimes, failed to catch her for years. In retaliation, Smith outsmarted federal agents, building a $40 million empire consisting of cash, diamonds, and gold bars. However, her success eventually made her a target, and she soon found herself on the run from both law enforcement and violent adversaries. After being sentenced to one of the longest white-collar prison terms in history, Smith mounted her own defense and successfully won her freedom.

Universal’s acquisition of Never Saw Me Coming is part of the studio's ongoing trend of securing high-profile book adaptations, including the rights to Britney Spears' The Woman in Me and Colleen Hoover’s Reminders of Him. Ryan Jones and Tony Ducret will oversee the film's production for Universal. Monáe, already a star in both music and film, continues to balance her artistic pursuits, with notable roles in Moonlight and Hidden Figures.