It's been 12 years since a studio executive got it in their minds that the world needs another Charlie's Angels movie - but that streak has come to an end. The franchise is now getting the classic big reboot treatment at Sony Pictures, and it looks like it will be Elizabeth Banks who will be taking the helm.
The Hollywood Reporter says that Banks is currently only in negotiations to take the reins on this project, but should she sign a deal she will be put in charge of putting a new spin on the franchise. At this time there are no plot details regarding what we can expect from this new movie - it's still very early - but we can surely expect that it will follow the basic premise of the original show from the 1970s: three pretty private detectives solve crimes around Los Angeles for an employer who never reveals his face.
Some might consider this an odd time to be announcing this project. After all, it was just a couple weeks ago that a studio reboot of a classic spy television series - The Man From U.N.C.L.E. - bombed at the box office. That being said, there is some box office history to suggest this could be successful. Both the 2000 feature Charlie's Angels and its 2003 sequel, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, made more than $250 million in worldwide theatrical release. In retrospect, some might wonder why we didn't see a third movie starring the trio of Cameron Diaz, Lucy Liu, and Drew Barrymore - but that can potentially be explained by the fact that the sequel got much poorer reviews than the first, and cost nearly $30 million more for what wound up being a smaller box office result.
Elizabeth Banks would certainly be an interesting choice to direct franchise reboot. While she is best known for her work as an actress - starring in features like The Hunger Games and The LEGO Movie - she recently made her big debut behind the scenes helming this summer's Pitch Perfect 2. That film was considered a hit, and got a positive response from critics, which surely put her on Sony's radar for Charlie's Angels.
While adding a director to a project is certainly a big step, it may be a little while before we hear about any major steps towards getting this future blockbuster into production. Right now, the studio is just starting to look for a writer to tackle the script - and it may take a minute before they both find the right person for the job, and the right draft with which they can move forward. For now, though, fans can feel free to speculate about it to their heart's content. I'll leave it to you guys: who should play the new Charlie's Angels?
