‘It’s almost over’: Angelina Jolie almost played this legendary character, 20 years later Zendaya could get the role

20 years ago, Angelina Jolie’s abandoned film Cleopatra was supposed to be both a romantic epic and “A political thriller with murder and sexAccording to the film’s original screenwriter, Brian Helgeland (Variety). The Oscar-winning actress was set to play the Egyptian queen in the Sony film, which was once approached by director David Fincher. And then, nothing more.

“I was the first writer on Cleopatra when it was almost finished for Angelina Jolie.“, he said Brian Helgeland In an interview with Inverse. “There were elements of a political thriller with murders and sex, but this is an epic shared by her love affairs with Caesar and Mark Antony. Many real events surprised me while I was writing it.“

“For example, the day Caesar was assassinated—the Ides of March and all that—he was in Rome.“, he continued. “They were going to Egypt, and to kill him at that time was to leave the city with him. This is historically true and is also in the script. He writes Mark Antony’s speech – “Friends, Romans, Countrymen” – because he doesn’t know what to say, but tells him what to say. It’s kind of her way of telling these guys to “screw you” because she’s pretty smart and he’s not.“

Hollywood has long struggled to make a Cleopatra film since Elizabeth Taylor’s infamous 1963 epic, which had a budget so big it nearly bankrupted 20th Century Fox. Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins was developing a new Cleopatra movie for Gal Gadot a few years ago, and Dune director Denis Villeneuve has long wanted to make his own movie about the Egyptian queen.

But earlier this year, the latter project appeared to receive a hopeful update when 1917 screenwriter Christy Wilson-Kearns was rumored to be writing the film. Denis VilleneuveNext to David Scarpa.

“I have nothing to do with the current version unless they call me and want to use my draft“, he said Brian Helgeland On the contrary. “I don’t know if this scenario will be used, but I would be happy to.“

In May 2011, Angelina Jolie In an interview with the Telegraph, he said he hoped his film Cleopatra would be an accurate portrayal of the historical icon.

“He was very unclear“- said the actor then. “I thought it was all about glamour, but then I heard about her and she was a very strong mother, she spoke five languages ​​and she was a leader.“

“My performance will never be as good as Elizabeth’s“- he added. “We’re trying to present a different truth about him as a pharaoh in history, not as a sex symbol, because he really wasn’t… even this idea of ​​him having many lovers – he could only have two. . She is very interesting, but she was not a great beauty.“

Zendaya in the lead role?

As for the Cleopatra project Denis VilleneuveZendaya is rumored to have been offered the role, at least that’s what journalist Daniel Richtman, who is often well-informed in the world of film, has said. Other rumors talked about Timothée Chalamet as Octavius ​​and Daniel Craig as Julius Caesar.

“I have this historical film project about the life of Cleopatra that is in development that I’m really excited about. I hope it hits the screen before or after the second part of Dune“, he explained Denis Villeneuve 2020 at TVA Mic.

The film is expected to be based on Stacey Schiff’s best-selling biography of the ruler of Egypt – and will be closer to the abandoned version. Brian Helgeland as it seems. David Scarpa In fact, he said that the film will be considered more of a bloody political thriller than a long historical epic.

“With Cleopatra, instead of making the movie like a prestige mural—three hours, a lot of spectacle, people with cheerleaders and English accents and all that—we really treated it as a political thriller. Dirty, bloody, lots of people swearing, sex and everything else. Besides, we treat it like murders, etc. A full two-hour political thriller. We take the opposite view of the idea that people might have about a movie like this“, he explained.

It remains to be seen when Denis Villeneuve will start production Cleopatra. The filmmaker has several high-profile projects currently in development, including the highly anticipated Dune 3.

Meanwhile, Dune: Part II is still playing in a few remaining theaters.