Zendaya to star as the titular character in Denis Villeneuve’s next film ‘CLEOPATRA’

Information reaching Kossyderrickent has it that Zendaya to be cast as the titular character in Denis Villeneuve’s next film ‘CLEOPATRA’.

Villeneuve‘a next film will be “Cleopatra” for Sony Pictures. The screenplay is said to be written by David Scarpa (“Napoleon”) and based on the best-selling book by Stacey Schiff. Production is supposed to begin sometime in 2024.

The story focuses on Cleopatra’s ruthless rise to power using her skills as a seductress. I highly doubt it’ll bear any resemblance to the 1963 Elizabeth Taylor starring epic, directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Earlier, in May this year, Auli’i Cravalho confirmed that she is not playing Moana again in the upcoming live-action film. The actress made the major announcement with an Instagram video. However, she is still a part of the remake, as one of the producers.

“When I was cast as Moana at 14, it wonderfully changed my life and started my career. In this live-action retelling, I will not be reprising the role. I believe it is absolutely vital that casting accurately represents the characters and stories we want to tell. I can’t wait to find the next actress to portray Moana’s courageous spirit, undeniable wit, and emotional strength,” she said in the video.

Recently, a fan-made trailer of Moana was released on social media, and it instantly went viral. The trailer, which claims that it reveals important leaked information on the cast of the film and its upcoming official trailer, suggests that the live-action film found its leading lady in Zendaya. If the fan-made trailer content is true, the Dune actress might replace Auliʻi Cravalho as the titular character in the upcoming film. Dwayne Johnson, on the other hand, is returning as Maui as he confirmed earlier. However, both Zendaya and Disney have not reacted to the fan-made trailer which claims to reveal major information on the upcoming film.

In 2020, right before shooting “Dune,” Villeneuve had spoken to local Montreal outlet TVA, confirming that “Cleopatra” was very much on the way: 

“There is of course the second part of Dune, which I hope I have the chance to shoot eventually. But I also have a historical film project on the life of Cleopatra. This project is underway and it excites me a lot. I hope I can bring it to the screen before or after filming the second part of Dune.”

As mentioned, there‘a already been a famous Cleopatra movie released. That one starred Elizabeth Taylor and received mixed reviews in 1963. Its runtime was an astounding 4 hours and 8 minutes! It was 1963’s highest grossing film and, despite a few inaccuracies, was considered a fairly accurate look at Ancient Egypt during the time of the last active pharaoh.

Scarpa has mentioned that the script is a “political thriller. Dirty, bloody, lots of people swearing and having sex and all of that other stuff and just a two-hour, lean, mean political thriller, full of assassinations, etc. Just going the opposite direction from the way we think that movie is going to go.”