Aussie actress Danielle Macdonald, star of the Sundance hit Patti Cake$, appears set to join the forthcoming beauty queen comedy Dumplin. If reports prove true – The Hollywood Reporter first reported the story – Macdonald will join the film alongside Emmy-winning actress Jennifer Aniston, who is also serving as a producer on the film, in an adaptation of  Julie Murphy’s 2015 YA novel. Kristin Hahn penned the screenplay and Anne Fletcher is slated to direct. Fletcher previously directed the hits Step Up, 27 Dresses and The Proposal.

The female empowerment comedy centers on Willowdean Dickson (Macdonald), a no nonsense, plus-sized teenager who joins a small-town beauty pageant. She does so, at least firstly, to incite the rise of her mother (Aniston), a former beauty queen who currently operates the pageant. However, Willowdean’s pageant stint elicits strong reactions from a group of social outcast, who dub themselves, “The Revolutionaries” and spur her to challenge the status quo. Dumplin is slated to begin production this summer in Atlanta.

Macdonald recently earned strong reviews in the 2017 Sundance Film Festival crowd-pleaser Patti Cake$, a film that recently screened at the Cannes Film Festival. In the film, Macdonald New Jersey rapper Killah P. Fox Searchlight acquired the picture shortly after its Sundance premiere and will open the film on August 18th. Macdonald has previously appeared in The East and Every Secret Thing. She will next be seen in Greta Gerwig’s directorial bid Lady Bird, an upcoming comedy starring Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn).

We will stay tuned to the latest on Dumplin.