The makers of director Kemp Powers' Lunik Heist, a film based on a Cold War-era true story, gave the casting update. The film's story is also inspired by an article by Jeff Maysh published in MIT Technology Review.

An announcement was made that actors Jared Leto, Lupita Nyong'o, and John Mulaney will be joining the film's star cast.

Powers served as the co-director of Spider Man: Across the Spider Verse and wrote One Night in Miami. Leto, who won an Oscar for Dallas Buyers Club, is also known for Blade Runner 2049, House of Gucci and Requiem for a Dream. He will next be seen in Tron: Ares. Mulaney, meanwhile, recently created a six-night live comedy series John Mulaney Presents: Everybody's in LA for Netflix. Winner of the Oscar for 12 Years a Slave, Nyong'o is popular for her roles in The Wild Robot, Black Panther and Us.

The film's plot follows the American government's bid to steal a spacecraft of the USSR during a 1959 expedition in Mexico City.

The film is backed by Searchlight Pictures. The president of the company, Matthew Greenfield described all three actors as "extraordinary talents." He calls the film a "wild, roller-coaster ride, filled with subterfuge and unlikely heroes."