From Ancient Egypt with The Mummy to 18th-century England in The Favourite, Rachel Weisz has played around in a variety of eras – and she’s soon set to play around in the classical Hollywood era. According to Variety, the British actor is all set to play the none-more-iconic Elizabeth Taylor in an upcoming biopic titled A Special Relationship, focusing on her life and career as a movie star, and shining a light on her work as an activist.
The film is set to be directed by duo Bert & Bertie, previously behind Troop Zero and Dance Camp, working from a script by Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire screenwriter Simon Beaufoy. During her lifetime, Taylor played a major role in the fight against AIDS, raising over $270 million for the cause and co-founding the National AIDS Research Foundation in 1985 with Dr. Michael Gottlieb. Taylor hired Roger Wall, a gay man, as her assistant in the 1980s – with the upcoming film set to be told through the pair’s friendship. “Audiences are clearly fascinated by the private lives of iconic Hollywood stars,” say producers Ian Canning and Emile Sherman. “There is no one more iconic than Elizabeth Taylor, and Simon Beaufoy has written a role that shines a light on Elizabeth’s humor and humanity, which will be beautifully brought to life through the extraordinary talents of Rachel Weisz.”
The news of A Special Relationship comes amid the throes of countless star-studded biopics – we’ve just had Renée Zellweger as Judy Garland in Judy, Jennifer Hudson will soon play Aretha Franklin in Respect, Baz Luhrmann is taking on Elvis Presley with Austin Butler as his leading man, and Ana de Armas has been cast as Marilyn Monroe in Andrew Dominik’s fictionalised Netflix take on Monroe’s life, Blonde. The release date for Weisz’s turn as Taylor is yet to be confirmed, but all eyes will certainly be on one enduring Oscar-winning actress bringing to life another one when the time comes.