‘Elite’ Stars Ester Expósito and Claudia Salas to Lead Carlota Pereda’s ‘The Blondes’

Ester Expósito and Claudia Salas, the breakout stars of Netflix’s “Elite,” will lead “The Blondes,” a darkly comic crime thriller from “Piggy” director Carlota Pereda. Paris-based Playtime has boarded international sales and is introducing the project to buyers at the American Film Market.

Shooting begins in March 2027. Universal Pictures International Spain will handle the Spanish release. Those are the fixed points. Everything else about the film, at this stage, exists mainly on paper.

What is the film about?

The story draws on the true-crime case of São Paulo’s “Gang of Blondes,” who kidnapped wealthy women and stole their identities. The producers describe the result as a candy-colored “bitch noir” about class, privilege and appearances, pitched as “Legally Blonde” meets “Spring Breakers.”

Expósito plays Cristina, a ruthless blonde who builds a criminal empire out of petty fraud. Salas plays Marta, a working-class brunette who loses her job and finds that a bottle of blonde dye and designer clothes open doors. With her best friend Pepa, Marta runs a string of scams — until Cristina introduces them to express kidnappings.

The feature expands Pereda’s short “Las Rubias,” which screened at more than 140 festivals worldwide.

Who is making it?

Merry Colomer produces for Spain’s Morena Films, with Pilar Benito executive producing. Morena’s credits include the Spanish box office hits “Champions” and “Cell 211,” and Asghar Farhadi’s Cannes opener “Everybody Knows.”

Pereda’s debut feature “Piggy” premiered at Sundance in 2022, won the Méliès d’Or at Sitges and collected six Goya nominations. That record is the strongest evidence the project can deliver on its pitch.

“‘The Blondes’ is a heist movie turned inside out. It’s funny, sharp, and underneath hides a question about privilege, prejudice and why we think all blondes look the same,” Pereda said. “I’m thrilled ‘The Blondes’ is in their hands, a film that is both a crowd-pleaser and a film with teeth.”

Playtime managing director Sébastien Beffa said the project reunites the sales outfit with Morena Films. “Her project is one of the funniest scripts we have read in a long while. It wholeheartedly embraces its genre while carrying a resolutely modern message,” Beffa said.

The crew list signals intent: cinematographer Rita Noriega (“Piggy”), production designer Carlota Casado, a longtime Pedro Almodóvar collaborator, and editor Verónica Callón (“Money Heist”).

What does this change for buyers?

For AFM attendees, the question is practical: two bankable streaming-era leads, a festival-decorated director and a distributor already attached in Spain — but no footage, and a start date nearly two years out. Beffa calls it one of the funniest scripts Playtime has read in a long while; buyers will have to take that on trust until cameras roll in March 2027.