Oscar-nominated actress Angela Bassett has officially found her latest blockbuster. On Thursday, it was reported that Bassett has joined the cast of Damsel, a fantasy film from Netflix that will star Stranger Things and Enola Holmes star Millie Bobby Brown. Bassett, whose recent filmography includes Gunpowder Milkshake and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, will be portraying Lady Bayford, the stepmother to Brown’s Princess Elodie. The project will be directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (28 Weeks Later), with a script written by Dan Mazeau (Wrath of the Titans), and reportedly have a budget of around $60-70 million.
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While the official plot of the film is currently under wraps, the report indicates that the story follows a young princess who is married off to a rival kingdom and immediately finds herself in danger when it’s revealed that her new home has a nasty little secret — during the harvest season, the kingdom sacrifices their princesses to a hungry dragon. Brown will play Princess Elodie, whose innocence gives way to a fierce warrior spirit when she finds herself fighting a dragon that’s out to kill her. Producers on the film will include Brown, Mazeau, Joe Rother, Jeff Kirschenbaum, Zack Roth, Chris Castaldi.
Fresnadillo is a Spanish director and producer who is also known for his work on Intruders, Intacto, and Falling Water. He is also attached to a reboot of Sword in the Stone, which is set to be released on Disney+. Mazeau has been attached to a lot of major properties over the years, working on scripts for adaptations of Jonny Quest, Bleach, and The Flash. He also wrote the script for Cowboy Ninja Viking, and has been attached to write a new reboot of Van Helsing.
Bassett is expected to return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Wakanda Forever later this year, with the sequel providing a new and bittersweet extension of the franchise following the passing of T’Challa actor Chadwick Boseman.
“We’re excited about [Black Panther 2]. Of course, we still have a little, you know, we feel some kind of way in our heart, of course. So every day is just a testament and a love fest for our dear [Chadwick Boseman],” Bassett said in an interview last year. “We still have Ryan and Joe Robert Cole, who wrote Black Panther 1, so the two of them, these men, these brothers, they’re going to bring it. They love Black Panther, they love what they started. As they say, ‘Finish the way you started.’ They started great and they’re going to do this one well as well.”
What do you think of Bassett joining the cast of Netflix’s Damsel? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
h/t: Deadline
