On Thursday, Rajinikanth met fans and the press outside his Chennai residence on the occasion of the Pongal festival. There, when he was asked for an update about his next, tentatively titled Thalaivar 173, the veteran actor revealed that the film will go on floors in April. He further revealed that the Cibi Chakravarthy directorial will be a commercial entertainer.

Backed by Kamal Haasan's Raaj Kamal Films International, the film marks Cibi's sophomore directorial. Anirudh is reuniting with Rajinikanth once again to compose music for the project, which will be released for the festive occasion of Pongal next year.

Cibi made his directorial debut with Don in 2022 with Sivakarthikeyan. The comedy drama was a successful venture for the director, who earned fame through the film. Reportedly, he is set to reunite with the actor for an untitled project, although an official confirmation is awaited.

Recent reports suggested that Thalaivar 173 is based on the English film The Outfit (2022). Directed by Graham Moore, the film 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.

It is still 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. Details about the film's extended cast and crew are awaited.

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. The film is slated to open in theatres on June 12, 2026.