Although most film franchises wait until they are failing to throw their hero or anti-hero into space, the original Barbarella creators realized that the concept was so bad that space was the only logical setting. And that tradition continues in the much-anticipated sequel.
“A female James Bond – in outer space,” is how De Laurentiis described the project with a straight face. “This is not a remake of Barbarella, but a completely new Barbarella. The new film with have love, sex and adventure.”
Whew. Instead of re-hashing old shit, we get brand new shit, which happens to be exactly the same as the old. But this time, Variety says that director Peter Webber will be helming the project. Although starting with a strong debut in The Girl with the Pearl Ear Ring, it appears that Webber is flushing any talent he may have right down the toilet in following up Hannibal Rising with Barbarella's latest space sex romp.
For those of you who may not be familiar with the original Barbarella, it was a 1968 science fiction erotica starring Jane Fonda and based on a comic book. Think a soft-core space porn with less sex and more talking – a concept that has been screaming for a sequel for nearly 30 years.
In addition to the new Barbarella, De Laurentiis is also working on other lucrative endeavors such as The Last Legion, a Roman war flick, Virgin Territory, a movie about the black plague, and an untitled underwater adventure about a killer whale (Orca 2?).
