Barbarella: Jane Fonda Reveals She Got Drunk to Film One Scene

Barbarella remains a unique cornerstone in the career of Jane Fonda, with her characterization of the sci-fi heroine continuing to be beloved. With a Sydney Sweeney-starring reboot of Barbarella currently in the works, the franchise is back in the spotlight once again — and it has led to Fonda revealing a surprising anecdote about the film's production. During a recent panel at the Cannes Film Festival (via Vulture), Fonda revealed that she got drunk to navigate her shyness.

"I didn't like it at all when I was making it," Fonda explained. "At the beginning of the movie, I did a striptease in space. I was very shy, believe it or not, so I had to get drunk, and I drank a lot of vodka. The next day when we saw the dailies, a bat kept flying between the camera and me. And we had to do the whole thing over again the next day – only I had a hangover." 

Was there a Barbarella sequel?

Following the 1968 release of Barbarella, there have been many attempts to continue or reboot the franchise onscreen. Initially, there were plans for a sequel, which would have tentatively been titled Barbarella Goes Down. There were then efforts to reboot the franchise with a new film in the 2000s, which would have been directed by Robert Rodriguez, and later Robert Luketic, and starred Rose McGowan. That incarnation of the project ultimately fell apart due to budget and filming constraints. A musical adaptation was produced in 2004. In 2012, Amazon Studios and Gaumont International Television aimed to create a Barbarella television series, which would have been set in Asia and directed by The Neon Demon's Nicolas Winding Refn. 

"Well, I don't own Barbarella, the estate does, but I decided to be more interested in the Neon Demon," Refn told The Playlist in 2016. "Plus there are other television things that caught my attention [because] I actually enjoy designing it from the beginning. It became… Barbarella, it was like Logan's Run: certain things are better left untouched. You don't need to remake everything."

What is Barbarella about?

Barbarella was created by Jean-Claude Forest to be serialized in V Magazine in 1962, and began to be collected in a standalone book years later. The comic followed the exploits of Barbarella, a space-faring astronaut who goes on adventures throughout the galaxy. It is often regarded to be one of the first erotic comic books, as well as a revolutionary step in terms of representing the sexual revolution of the era. Multiple new comics inspired by the franchise have been published by Dynamite in recent years.

"I'm really excited to serve all the fits," Sweeney explained in an interview late last year. "But also, just it's such an iconic, fun character. And I want to keep that fun alive through Barbarella. So, I'm excited for everyone to see it."