Thalaivar 171 (tentative title) is one of the projects in actor Rajinikanth's line-up, and the movie was officially announced in September, 2023. The project marks the reunion of Jailer combo - Rajini, music composer Anirudh Ravichander and production banner Sun Pictures. Lokesh Kangaraj who was initially set to do a film with Rajinikanth under Kamal Haasan's Raaj Kamal Films International (the project never took off), finally gets to direct Rajinikanth in Thalaivar 171. 

Lokesh is bringing back his favourite collaborators i.e. stunt duo Anbariv for Thalaivar 171. While the movie is expected to go on floors in 2024, latest update suggests that Mollywood actor Prithiviraj Sukumaran will be cast in the film. Prithviraj was first linked to Thalaivar 171 late October, 2023. MovieCrow learns all signs are on for the actor to star alongside Rajinikanth, and an official announcement may be out soon. 

Director Lokesh Kanagaraj is famous for making movies with star actors [Karthi (Kaithi), Kamal Haasan (Vikram), Vijay (Leo)] under a franchise known as LCU i.e. Lokesh Cinematic Universe. Recently, it was revealed that Thalaivar 171 will not be a part of LCU, rather it will be a standalone movie. Thalaivar 171 begins shooting in April, 2024.