Edgar Wright has offered an update on his in-development Barbarella film starring Sydney Sweeney. Created by French comic artist Jean-Claude Forest in 1962, Barbarella is best known as a feature film starring Jane Fonda. A cult classic, attempts at a Barbarella remake date back as far as 2000, but the project picked up steam when Sydney Sweeney signed on to star in 2022, with Edgar Wright signing on to direct just last year.
Speaking with Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused Podcast, Wright was asked about his relationship to the Barbarella property and working on another comic book movie after dropping out of Marvel’s Ant-Man. “After my experience [with Ant-Man], I was not interested in superhero movies generally, but that doesn’t mean I’m not interested in a comic book movie. I’d love to do another comic book movie,” Wright said. While the filmmaker didn’t confirm that Barbarella would be his next project, he did reveal that his take would draw closer to the original French comics as opposed to the 1968 feature film, saying:
“I think if that did happen, it would be more [of an adaptation of the source material]. I love the original, and I probably watched that at exactly the right age: too young. The script is by Terry Southern, though you can feel the Terry Southern-ess of it start to . . . there’s a lot of that in there, and when it’s really sharp, it’s great. It’s beautiful to look at, and it’s fun and subversive. The books themselves are just beautiful and really imaginative and progressive.”
Sydney Sweeney & Edgar Wright’s Box Office Problems
Both Edgar Wright and Sydney Sweeney are coming off disappointing box office performances. The Running Man opened below expectations, grossing $16 million in its opening weekend and number two at the box office behind Now You See Me: Now You Don’t. With a $110 million budget and competition from the likes of Wicked: For Good in the coming weeks, The Running Man is looking like a box-office bomb for Wright, and a bit of a critical letdown for the acclaimed filmmaker.
Then there is Sydney Sweeney, who has had a headline-making 2025 but not always for the best reasons. While Anyone But You seemed to solidify her as a box office draw, movies like Eden, Echo Valley, and Christy all cratered financially. Christy was supposed to be a potential awards play that only grossed $1.3 million in its opening weekend, making it one of the top twelve worst openings for a movie playing in 2,000 theaters. To add insult to injury, Christy dropped by 91.7% the following weekend for the worst second weekend in box office history. Then there has been the controversy around her American Eagle Outfitters ad, whose slogan, “Sydney Sweeney has Great Jeans,” became a political talking point.
Even though Sydney Sweeney has developed a strong working relationship with Sony Pictures, the studio behind Barbarella, it is unclear if they will move forward with the reboot. If they do and Sweeney keeps Edgar Wright on board, Sony Pictures will likely be cautious about the budget following The Running Man‘s performance. Maybe Barbarella will be the career comeback that both Sweeney and Wright need.
- Release Date
-
October 22, 1968
- Runtime
-
98minutes
- Director
-
Roger Vadim
- Writers
-
Roger Vadim