The Barbarella feature, which Sydney Sweeney is expected to star in, may well have found its pilot: Edgar Wright is in talks to direct the film for Sony Pictures, with Jane Goldman and Honey Ross also in talks to pen the script. The project is still in the early development stages, and is planned as a new take on the character that originated in a French comic series from Jean-Claude Forest, but who achieved global recognition as portrayed by Jane Fonda in the 1968 cult movie. In said film, Barbarella, an astronaut from the future, is sent on a mission to find and stop an evil scientist whose invention could spell the destruction of the galaxy.

Sweeney has had a banner year already, having starred opposite Glen Powell in the rom-com Anyone but You, appearing in the ill-fated but highly-publicised Madame Web, and taking the lead role in the Catholic horror Immaculate. Meanwhile, Edgar Wright is best known for helming films like Last Night in Soho, Baby Driver, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, and will direct a new adaptation of The Running Man for Paramount Pictures that will, coincidentally, star Glen Powell.

This is not the first time that a remake of the cult favourite film has been attempted. As reported by STARBURST in 2022, when this iteration was first announced, “We’ve gotten close to a new Barbarella adaptation several times over the years, with the likes of Drew Barrymore and Rose McGowan both coming close to slipping on the space boots in 2000 and 2008 respectively. High-profile filmmakers Robert Rodriguez and Nicolas Winding Refn have also been attached along the way, the latter having envisioned it as a TV series for Amazon in 2014 with James Bond writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade on scripting duties.” Hopefully though, with the talent currently attached, this is the one that will make it to the finish line.