A remake of the film Barbarella is currently in the works at Sony Pictures, with Sydney Sweeney being the one to star in the sci-fi film. The original sci-fi-comedy film was made in 1968 and starred actress Jane Fonda as the titular Barbarella. The film focuses on her traveling across the galaxy trying to capture a scientist bent on bringing evil back into the galaxy.
Now 56 years later, Sony is focusing on this new film, according to Deadline. Not only have they got Sweeney to star as the titular character, who is coming off her most recent Sony film Anyone But You, but they have also started negotiations with getting writers Jane Goldman and Honey Ross to write the film. Goldman in particular has experience writing screenplays for comic films, such as Kick-Ass, multiple X-Men features, and Kingsman films.
Negotiations for a director are also currently in the works. One director in talks with the studio is director Edgar Wright, who has worked on action comedy films such as Shaun of the Dead, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, and Baby Driver. However, it has been noted that if Wright were to get the job, it would have to wait until after he finishes his current project The Running Man, which is currently in preparation and will star Glen Powell.
Originally, Barbarella was a comic from French comic artist and writer Jean-Claude Forest, who first made the comics in 1964, which followed Barbarella as she traveled all over the galaxy, thwarting evil and was also an icon during the sexual revolution of the 1960s. Many plot points and scenes throughout the comics revolved partially around sex and sexual expression.
According to Comic Book Resources, the comic series stopped serializing in 1978, however thanks to comic company Dynamite Entertainment, Barbarella has made it back to serialization in 2017 and has continued since.
In an official statement from Forest’s son Julien, “This is the first step in a multimedia approach designed to herald the return of Barbarella. We are particularly happy and proud to take that step together with Dynamite, which has showed (sic) great respect for so many other classic characters.”
Currently, there is no production or release date for the film.