Forget Booksmart – actor-director Olivia Wilde is about to get comic-book-smart. In an unexpected but not at all unwelcome turn of events, the Don't Worry Darling filmmaker is, according to THR, set to bring Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld's cult '90s comic series Avengelyne to the big screen. And what's more, Margot Robbie — no stranger to a superhero movie or two herself — is also aboard, and will co-produce alongside Deadpool writer-producer Simon Kinberg under her LuckyChap banner.
Now, we know what you're thinking: "Who the heck is Avengelyne? An avenger? An angel?" Well try avenging angel and you're just about there. Created by Liefeld and the appropriately-named Cathy Christian, Avengelyne debuted in Avengelyne: Deadly Sins #1 in 1995. An angel cast out of heaven for questioning God's love of humanity, Avengelyne uses her divine powers — super strength, regenerative healing, necromancy, the odd holy sword, and, err, miraculous blood — to fight demons on Earth and fend off the apocalypse. In her time, she's teamed up with demon-decapitating priests, fought the living embodiment of the Seven Deadly Sins, and saved actual Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. You know, standard superhero stuff.
As Liefeld, LuckyChap, and Wilde prepare to take their tantalising package for Avengelyne to potential studios and streamers, it's worth noting that this isn't actually the first attempt to bring the character to our screens. As far back as 2013, plans for The Dreaded One's cinematic debut have been floating about. At one stage, former Mandalorian star Gina Carano was set to wield the fallen angel's trusty double daggers. At another, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and The Crowded Room mastermind Akiva Goldsman was attached to write an adaptation for Paramount. But now, after years in production hell, the prospect of an Olivia Wilde and Margot Robbie team-up sounds like a match made in heaven. And while we wait to hear more about this one, the campaign for everybody's favourite Merc With A Mouth to make an appearance and cook up a blasphemous storm starts here, folks!