USA Today says, Fresh from stealing Meryl Streep's heart in Mamma Mia!, Pierce Brosnan will soon return to snatching priceless goodies in The Thomas Crown Affair 2, the sequel to his successful 1999 remake that should arrive next year.

The new caper is partly based on 1964's Topkapi. "We are just using a sliver of that," he says, including the same setting, Istanbul. This time, his billionaire thief is after a rare diamond instead of paintings. While Rene Russo will not return, a female co-star has yet to be named. Angelina Jolie is considered in the running. "This is a different affair," Brosnan says.

That is an understatement, considering that Dutch filmmaker Paul Verhoeven (Starship Troopers, Showgirls) is in charge. "He does sexy well," says the actor, 55. Which means, "I will have to go to the gym to get rid of my Mamma Mia! middle."

Yawn. This time he has to steal a rare diamond, and the movie only takes a 'sliver' of a storyline from another movie. And with the director of Showgirls and Brosnan's potbelly, this should be a fresh, new sequel.