‘Elite’ Stars Ester Expósito and Claudia Salas Lead Carlota Pereda’s ‘The Blondes,’ Playtime Launches Sales at AFM (EXCLUSIVE)

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

Inspired by the true-crime story of São Paulo’s notorious “Gang of Blondes,” who kidnapped wealthy women and stole their identities, the film is described as a candy-colored “bitch noir” exploring class, privilege and appearances.

Produced by Merry Colomer at Spain’s Morena Films, with Pilar Benito executive producing, “The Blondes” will begin shooting in March 2027. Universal Pictures International Spain will handle the Spanish release.

Expósito – whose romance with French soccer star Kylian Mbappé dominated social media chatter over the summer — plays Cristina, a ruthless blonde who transforms petty fraud into a criminal empire.

Salas stars as Marta, a working-class brunette who loses her job and discovers that a bottle of blonde hair dye and designer clothes can open doors. Alongside her best friend Pepa, she embarks on a string of scams before Cristina introduces them to express kidnappings.

Pitched as “Legally Blonde” meets “Spring Breakers,” the film expands Pereda’s short “Las Rubias,” which screened at more than 140 festivals worldwide.

“‘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,” says Pereda. “I’m thrilled ‘The Blondes’ is in their hands, a film that is both a crowd-pleaser and a film with teeth.”

Pereda’s debut feature “Piggy” premiered at Sundance in 2022, won the Méliès d’Or at Sitges and earned six Goya nominations.

Morena Films’ credits include Spanish box office hits “Champions” and “Cell 211,” as well as Asghar Farhadi’s Cannes opener “Everybody Knows.”

Playtime managing director Sébastien Beffa says 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.”

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