We had earlier reported that Don director Cibi Chakravarthy will be helming Rajinikanth's upcoming film Thalaivar 173, produced by Kamal Haasan's Raaj Kamal Films International. Rumours have begun circulating that the film is based on the English film The Outfit (2022).

Directed by Graham Moore, The Outfit is set in 1950s Chicago and follows Leonard Burling (Mark Rylance), a quiet English tailor who runs a small shop catering to local gangsters, living a submissive life after fleeing a personal tragedy in London.

While it is unclear if Kamal and Rajinikanth will share screen space in the upcoming film, they last appeared together in Thillu Mullu (1981) in Tamil and Geraftaar (1985) in Hindi.

Rajinikanth, who last starred in Lokesh Kanagaraj's Coolie, is working on his next release, Jailer 2, a sequel to his hit 2023 film Jailer, with Nelson Dilipkumar. Kamal Haasan, meanwhile, last starred in Mani Ratnam's Thug Life and is working on the directorial debut of the stunt direction duo Anbariv, KH 237.