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Sydney Sweeney, star of Immaculate and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, is rapidly becoming one of Hollywood’s top stars. Pundits describe her as the “modern bombshell” and “the next evolution of the Hollywood sex symbol”. You might assume that Sweeney is a new talent on the global movie scene. But Sweeney already has a string of sell-out movies and is one of Sony Pictures’ top performers with roles in the rom-com Anyone But You (2023) and Madame Web (2024).
Sydney Sweeney is set to star as Barbarella in a new film for Sony Pictures
Sony Pictures clearly wants to keep Sydney Sweeney on its books, and she is tipped to star in the studio’s upcoming remake of the 1968 sci-fi comedy Barbarella. The original Barbarella, starring Jane Fonda in one of her most iconic roles, is a cult classic available to watch on Paramount+. Directed by Roger Vadim, Barbarella‘s futuristic sci-fi comedy is based on the French comic series written by Jean-Claude Forest. Fonda’s Barbarella is a space traveler living in the 41st century. She is commissioned by the President on Earth to locate and find a scientist, Durand Durand, who has invented a laser-powered weapon with the potential for mass destruction.
Sydney Sweeney is the next evolution of the Hollywood sex symbol.
Fonda’s Barbarella has a lot of campy space adventures and finds love interests in unexpected places. While the original Barbarella flopped at the box office, it has grown in popularity over the decades. The name of its villain, Durand Durand, even inspired the name of the 1980s English pop band Duran Duran, who penned the song “Electric Barbarella“.
With Sweeney at the helm, the new Sony movie is becoming one of the most hotly anticipated remakes in sci-fi. Rumors have been circulating about Barbarella throughout 2024. Edgar Wright, the award-winning director of Baby Driver (2017) and Last Night in Soho (2021), is also rumored to be directing the remake, but this has not been officially confirmed. Blake Northcott, the international bestselling author of a brand-new comic series of Barbarella, is tipped to write the screenplay. While Variety reported in May of 2024 that Jane Goldman was in talks to write the upcoming movie adaptation, Collider recently confirmed that Northcott had signed on to write the movie, Sony has yet to make an official announcement.
Nerdspin Talks to Script Writer Blake Northcott
Adding Blake Northcott to the screenwriting team means the new Barbarella movie will not stray far from its roots. Speaking to Nerdspin about her Barbarella comics, Northcott says that her goal was to…
“make it sexy and make it fun. I took that as a mandate to bring it closer to the source material, which was the Jane Fonda movie, and of course the comics that the movie was based on. We wanted a retro-futurism vibe to everything, which was a hot aesthetic in the late 60s and 70s, and our incredible artist Anna Morozova really captured it. She’s been such a treat to work with, and I couldn’t imagine anyone else bringing this series to life.”
Northcott is also a fan of Sweeney and has full confidence in her ability to step into the iconic Barbarella role.
“Sydney Sweeney has every single quality required to bring Barbarella to life: she’s comfortable in her sexuality, but she’s also incredibly smart, and has a sense of humor about herself. At this moment, she’s the only choice I can see playing Barb. I don’t know if the world was ready for a Barbarella adaptation a few years ago, but things are shifting. And I think a big part of that shift is Sydney herself.”
Sydney’s versatile acting talent is a natural fit for the sci-fi genre and the range to embrace Barbarella’s funky and futuristic image. Her acting credits include a role in the dystopian television series The Handmaid’s Tale and in several movies including Immaculate, ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destruction, and Giant Killer Ants. Sydney will need to convey Barbarella’s intuition, thoughtfulness, and her resourcefulness (all whilst wearing wild costumes and blending humor with action). It is the perfect role to expand her growing popularity from earlier movies.
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If the new movie takes inspiration from the original movie with Jane Fonda, we should also expect returning characters from the 1968 movie. These characters may include the mysterious Black Queen, the villain in the original movie played by Anita Pallenberg. She is a cool and calculated counterbalance to Barbarella and she rules her kingdom with a tyrannical fist. We don’t know whether the Black Queen will reappear. But if the new movie spotlights familiar characters, actors like Dakota Johnson or Vanessa Kirby would be perfect casting for this memorable villain.
Whilst the original Barbarella is a cult classic, this new version has the potential to be even more memorable with Sweeney at the helm. Jane Fonda brought an iconic character to life. In Sweeney’s own words, ‘I want to, hopefully, just fill those shoes and give more to a whole new generation.’ Whether through the fashion, the sci-fi, or the action scenes, there is a whole lot of fun on our horizon with a new Barbarella movie.
The project is still in development, but filming should start later this year.
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