Barbarella originated as a French comic book property by Jean-Claude Forest. The comic originated within the Sexual Revolution of the era, and it is considered one of the first “adult” comics. The Barbarella film was similarly risqué and it was considered gratuitous in its depiction of sex at the time. The plot features Barbarella, played by Jane Fonda, a representative of a United Earth government, as she’s sent to stop evil scientist Durand Durand (Milo O’Shea), who has created a weapon that could destroy humanity. Barbarella was popular with audiences, eventually becoming a cult classic, but attempts to secure sequels, remakes, and television shows have stalled in the years since - until Sony’s adaptation moved forward.
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According to Deadline, Sony Pictures has tapped Sweeney (Euphoria, The White Lotus) to star in the title role of Barbarella, and she has also been given a role as an executive producer. Sweeney, who has been linked with Sony’s Madame Web, has been associated with several Sony projects of late. The company recently acquired the rights to The Registration, a film that Sweeney is set to star in and produce. Details about the plot have yet to be released and no director or writer has been attached to the film. Sweeney’s casting is the first news about this iteration of the project, as the last known proposal for a new Barbarella adaptation was an attempt at a television adaptation nearly ten years ago.
The original Barbarella was quite campy, as is characteristic of the sci-fi of that era. It will be interesting to see how this new Barbarella shapes up considering the original was a sci-fi film in the era before Star Wars, which changed the film landscape entirely. Newer science fiction films tend to be more serious and rely on state-of-the-art special effects, which were not as advanced back in 1968. Barbarella had some memorable costumes and set designs, and it will be fun to see how that aspect of the film is updated.
It will also be interesting to see how Sony handles the sexualized elements of Barbarella. Though the public’s perception of sex is arguably more liberated, there are numerous other considerations to be had when discussing sex in film. Actors and actresses should definitely be consulted before they’re put in situations that make them uncomfortable.
While Sweeney has expressed that she does not mind shooting sex scenes in Euphoria, she has stated that she is extensively consulted in those situations, and reserves the right to say no to a scene if she feels it is not conducive to her character’s arc. Since she’s executive producing Barbarella, hopefully, she has the same autonomy and any sexualization in the film is done tastefully and respectfully.
Barbarella is in development at Sony Pictures.
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Source: Deadline
