Writer/director Andrew Dominik has been somewhat quiet since 2012's Killing Them Softly and Nick Cave music doc One More Time With Feeling in 2016. Aside from directing a handful of episodes of Mindhunter, he's been busy developing new films, and one, Blonde, might just be taking a positive step forward. According to Collider, he's close to hiring Blade Runner 2049's Ana de Armas to play Marilyn Monroe.
Oates’ tome used biographical and historical sources to spin a new story focusing on the inner life of Norma Jeane Baker, the woman behind the screen idol and tragic starlet. The portrait emerges of a fragile, gifted young woman with a knack for reinvention, who used those skills to overcome great odds.
The book was a finalist for both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, and Dominik was so taken with it that he wrote the script adaptation on spec. Since then, it has been in development hell, cycling through various casting possibilities including Naomi Watts and Jessica Chastain.
Netflix is backing the current version, but Collider cautions that de Armas has yet to sign a deal to take the role and the streaming service hasn't greenlit it at the time of writing. Still, perhaps Dominik could finally see a passion project come to life.
De Armas will be seen in Yesterday (28 June), The Informer (16 August) and Knives Out (due 29 November).
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