It’s been over 18 months since we first shared the news of Sydney Sweeney’s plans to produce and star in a reboot of Roger Vadim’s cult 1968 sci-fi Barbarella. Since then, Sweeney’s star has risen and risen, with the Euphoria sensation releasing a slew of films including rom-com Anyone But You, erotic thriller The Voyeurs, and nunsploitation flick Immaculate, leaving ol’ Barb on the back burner. But now it looks like Sweeney has found the right stuff to finally get the project off the ground. The Wright stuff, in fact.
According to Deadline, none other than Cornetto Trilogy mastermind Edgar Wright is in talks to helm the remake. Reportedly Wright has been circling the film for some time, meeting with Sweeney shortly after the remake was announced and expressing an interest in developing the project in a directorial capacity. And whilst both prospective director and star are exceptionally busy right about now — Sweeney's gearing up for a Christy Martin biopic and Wright is readying his Glen Powell-starring reboot of The Running Man — Sony, who saw the Sydney Sweeney effect in full flow with Anyone But You's $210 million box office success, clearly has high hopes for Barbarella and its franchise potential.
Also in negotiations to help bring the astronaut from the 41st century into the 21st one are X-Men: First Class and Days Of Future Past scribe Jane Goldman and Everything I Know About Love's Honey Ross. Whilst nothing is known yet about what form this new version of Barbarella will take, we do know that it was Sweeney and Sony's tonal aspirations for the film that made them want to bring Edgar Wright aboard. And, presumably, this new take on Vadim's campy classic may well see Barbarella taking on Positronic Ray-wielding big bad Durand Durand once again. We don't know when this one will be hitting our screens just yet, but we are hungry like the wolf for a Sydney Sweeney x Edgar Wright collab. (And yes, that was a Duran Duran reference.)