An update has come in via Deadline about the upcoming Charlie’s Angels reboot. We finally have our trio, and they will be Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott, Ella Balinska!
The film is being directed by Elizabeth Banks (who also co-wrote it with Jay Basu, based on earlier drafts by Craig Mazin and Semi Chellas). This would mark her first foray into big budget filmmaking, having previously directed a segment in Movie 43, though we’d all like to forget about that, and Pitch Perfect 2. This is how the Deadline article describes the setup:
“The film will follow a new next generation of Angels working for the mysterious Charlie. Since the original films (starring Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, and Lucy Liu) based on the 1970s TV series, The Townsend Agency has grown considerably and gone global, providing security and intelligence services to a variety of private clients with offices and highly trained teams worldwide. This film focuses on one of those teams.”
From the sound of it, it seems like it’s essentially a sequel, being in canon with the previous two McG helmed films. Not sure if that’s the smartest idea, but we’ll see how much of a real connection there is.
As for the cast, it looks pretty great. Kristen Stewart has been killing it with her various turns in smaller, indie projects, and it will be cool to see her return to the big budget studio realm where she first got her fame. Naomi Scott did fine work in Power Rangers, and apparently Disney thought so too since she’s playing Jasmine in the upcoming Aladdin film directed by Guy Ritchie, which is something I continuously have to remind myself is a thing that actually exists and not some weird Mad Libs exercise. Ella Balinska is the most unknown here, having acted in a bunch of shorts and a couple TV episodes in the UK.
It’s also worth noting that Elizabeth Banks won’t just be behind the camera, she’s playing a role of Bosley, who is basically acts as the middle-man between the mysterious Charlie and his Angels. He was played by David Doyle in the original TV series, and Bill Murray in the 2000 film.
I’m really into this. The show is fun, and it lends itself to some great entertainment, and with more female voices behind the scenes with this particular take, I’m sure we’ll get something that is just as fun, but also bringing in a more compelling perspective. I can’t wait to see what they cook up here.
Charlie’s Angels is scheduled to release in theaters on September 27, 2019.