Sony Pictures is planning to bring Barbarella into a whole new era, with the studio recently putting a new reboot of the comic into development. The new project, which would be inspired by Jean-Claude Forest’s cult-classic comic book series of the same name, will star and be executive produced by Euphoria and Madame Web star Sydney Sweeney. This won’t be the first time that Barbarella gets the movie treatment, after a 1968 movie led by Jane Fonda — and apparently, the iconic actress is apprehensive about this new iteration.
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“I try not to [think about it,]” Fonda revealed in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “Because I worry about what it’s going to be. I had an idea of how to do it that [original producer] Dino De Laurentiis, when he was still alive, wouldn’t listen to. But it could have been a truly feminist movie.”
What is Barbarella about?
Barbarella was created by 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.”
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 do you think of Sydney Sweeney starring in a new Barbarella reboot? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
