Sydney Sweeney to Star in Barbarella Remake Because She Loves Us

Movies

Sydney Sweeney is striking while the iron is hot. (Feel free to make all the euphemism-based jokes you like.) Deadline exclusively reports that the burgeoning star is developing a remake of Barbarella with Sony, with Jane Goldman and Honey Ross in talks to write the script and Edgar Wright being circled to direct. Barbarella was a sci-fi action movie from 1968 with Jane Fonda in the lead role; the film is best remembered for its sexiness, with Fonda showing off her physical assets. Edgar Wright is best known as the director of the “Cornetto Trilogy,” consisting of Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and The World’s End; he also directed Baby Driver, Last Night in Soho, and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. Jane Goldman has co-written some of Matthew Vaughn’s best films, including Kick-Ass, Kingsman: The Secret Service, X-Men: First Class, and Stardust; she also co-wrote the excellent spy thriller The Debt. Honey Ross’ resume is less extensive; she was a writer on the series Everything I Know About Love and wrote “additional material” for The Big Fat Quiz of the Year, some quiz-style British game show.

“Sydney Sweeney in Barbarella” is really all this needs to be a hit, but I like having Jane Goldman write the script. It feels like they’re going for a fun, action-packed tone, and that suits me just fine. Kingsman and Kick-Ass didn’t shy away from being sexy on occasion, which is what Barbarella needs, and I think the neurotic denizens of the increasingly puritanical modern world need a Barbarella movie to kick them in the ass and reintroduce them to unabashedly sexy flicks. Did you see that survey that said the younger generation wants less sex in movies, as if we’re currently in the midst of a Russ Meyer revival or something? God bless Sydney Sweeney for trying to turn that around; she’s one of the only women who can and possibly the only one who’s willing to do it. And this is exactly the right move for her now: a fun movie that leans into her sex appeal but written by someone who’s made good movies in the past. I’m not sure about Edgar Wright; I know his name is royalty, but I’m not his biggest fan, and I’m not sure he’s right for a Barbarella movie. I liked the Cornetto Trilogy less as it went along (I absolutely hated The World’s End; I don’t think I laughed once), Baby Driver was okay, and Last Night in Soho was mostly good, although some of the characters could’ve used a little more fleshing out. (Not that way; I know we’re talking Barbarella and Sydney Sweeney, but not everything I say is a double-entendre… seriously, I promise.) But it could be a lot worse, and I imagine one of the sticking points in finding a director is whether he’s willing to leave his inhibitions at the door and make nudity great again. If Wright is up for that, more power to him. I’m excited for this, and I hope it’s a sign of a sea change in the general sexual sterility of modern cinema, with Sydney Sweeney leading the way.