A new update on Sydney Sweeney’s Barbarella remake means it could finally end 57 years of trouble. Based on the French comic book of the same name by Jean-Claude Forest, the 1968 sci-fi film stars Jane Fonda as the тιтular space explorer and envoy of the United Earth government who is tasked with locating the scientist Durand Durand (Milo O’Shea), who has developed a weapon capable of wiping out humanity. The original movie was directed by Roger Vadim and also starred John Phillip Law, Anita Pallenberg, Marcel Marceau, Claude Dauphin, David Hemmings, and Ugo Tognazzi.
As early as October 2022, Sony Pictures announced they were developing a Barbarella remake with Sweeney set to star as the тιтular character and executive produce the project. However, progress has been quite slow since then. Two years later, in May 2024, Edgar Wright signed on to direct, with Jane Goldman and Honey Ross also being eyed to co-write the script. Since then, there hasn’t been any official progress, but a new optimistic update from Sweeney on the Barbarella remake means it may actually happen.
Sydney Sweeney’s Barbarella Remake May Actually Happen Based On Her Optimistic Update
She Read The Script & Remains Committed
During a recent interview, Sweeney shared an update on the Barbarella remake. She provided reᴀssurance that development is still continuing, mentioning that she had recently read the script in a meeting and emphasized her strong commitment to the project. Read her full response below:
I was just in London and had a meeting to discuss the story and the script. I can’t say too much, but it’s really going to come together in a very, very fun and big way. It’s a long process. I don’t think people realise how long some things can take, but it’s gonna be worth the wait…
Sweeney’s update certainly doesn’t promise that the Barbarella remake is coming soon. However, it does indicate that the project is very much still in active development and is moving forward. Even slow progress is still progress, and she seems committed to getting the movie made.
Hollywood Has Struggled To Make Another Barbarella Ever Since The Original
There Have Been Several Failed Sequels, Remakes, & A TV Show
Barbarella wasn’t a big box office hit, making $5.5 million at the box office, but it later became a cult film through rentals at video stores. In turn, there have been several attempts to develop sequels, remakes, and other adaptations, though none have progressed to the production stage. Soon after its release in October 1968, a sequel was in development as early as the next month under the tentative тιтle Barbarella Goes Down, which would have featured the heroine involved in some underwater escapades.
Decades later, in 1990, screenwriter Terry Southern was approached about writing a low-budget sequel with “plenty of action and plenty of Sєx,” and possibly with Jane Fonda’s daughter in the lead role. During the 2000s, the Barbarella reboot was brought up again, with Robert Rodriguez directing and Rose McGowan set to star. However, when the budget got too big, Universal backed out, and though Rodriguez found a German studio willing to put up $70 million, he eventually exited the project since it would have required him to be away from his family for an extended time.
In 2012, there were plans for a Barbarella TV series from Drive director Nicolas Winding Refn. However, by 2016, Refn began devoting his time to developing his next film, The Neon Demon, rather than Barbarella. He ultimately stated that “certain things are better left untouched. You don’t need to remake everything.”
Sydney Sweeney Is The Right Star To Help Get A Barbarella Remake Across The Finish Line
She’s One Of Hollywood’s Biggest Young Stars Right Now
Though Hollywood has failed to make another Barbarella since the original, Sydney Sweeney seems like the perfect star to get the remake across the finish line. She is one of Hollywood’s biggest young stars right now and, in the past few years, she’s also taken on a more active role as a producer, including on Anyone But You and her horror movie Immaculate.
On the one hand, this means Sweeney has a very busy schedule and is attached to a lot of other projects. This includes Wicked director Jon M. Chu’s next movie Split Fiction, a Masque of the Red Death movie, and a Sammy Davis Jr./Kim Novak movie directed by her Euphoria co-star Colman Domingo.
However, Sweeney has also shown that she will always pursue projects she is pᴀssionate about, no matter how long they take. Immaculate, for instance, started development as early as 2014 when Sweeney first auditioned for the role, but following her breakout in Euphoria, she bought the rights to the screenplay and expedited its development. With Sweeney on board, not only as a star but also a producer, that should all benefit the Barbarella remake and greatly increase its chances of making it to the big screen.
