Steve McQueen is to direct heist thriller Widows.

Steve McQueen
(Ian West/PA Wire)

The Oscar-winning 12 Years A Slave filmmaker will take the reins on the big-screen adaptation of the 1980s TV series, reported Screen Daily.

The film will be based on the ITV and Thames TV show, which was written by crime author Lynda La Plante, and focused on the wives of four armed robbers who pull off a raid after their husbands are killed on the job.

Steve will also write and produce the film, which is scheduled to start pre-production by the end of 2014.

The 45-year-old director will reunite with studio New Regency for Widows.

The show, which starred Ann Mitchell, Fiona Hendley, Maureen O’Farrell and Eva Mottley, premiered in March 1983. It spawned two more series, which aired in 1985 and 1995.

Steve McQueen
(Ian West/PA Wire)

Steve, whose other films include Shame and Hunger, is also planning a film about the life of American singer and actor Paul Robeson.