Between various movie and television projects, many filmmakers have worked to capture the life and times of Marilyn Monroe in a narrative, hiring fantastically talented actresses to take on the role, and soon we will be seeing the latest entry into the specific subgenre. Writer/director Andrew Dominik is in the process of finishing Blonde, a feature adaptation of the novel about Monroe by Joyce Carol Oates, and it will feature Knives Out star Ana de Armas playing the lead.
Fans are obviously excited to see transformation that the actress will undergo for the part, and only stoking that anticipation are recent quotes from de Armas, who says that she cried the first time she saw herself as Marilyn Monroe.
The development of Blonde was recently brought up in an interview that Ana de Armas did with Allure, with the magazine specifically asking what it was like for the Cuban actress to see herself in full make-up for the role. She explained,
I cried. It was a big, big deal for me. It was a very important role for me, a big challenge, something that I was preparing for a very long time — and to finally sit in the chair and put the wig and makeup on… it was very special. I completely transformed. One of the most beautiful things about my job, I think, is to see yourself become someone else.
Blonde is a film that has been in development for about a decade now, with Andrew Dominik initially casting Naomi Watts as his lead. When the project struggled to get out of development hell, eventually Jessica Chastain signed on for the part. That version didn't come together either, but Ana de Armas signed on to the project in March 2019, and now the movie has not only completed production, but already has distribution set up thanks to Netflix.
The movie won't be your typical biopic, as Joyce Carol Oates' book is not a biography, but instead a fictionalized story that has Marilyn Monroe as its lead character – notably changing a lot of names along the way. Blonde sports has an outstanding supporting cast that includes Bobby Cannavale, Adrien Brody, Scoot McNairy, Garret Dillahunt, Julianne Nicholson, and Sara Paxton.
While this will be the first time that Blonde has been made as a feature, the source material was previously adapted for a 2001 made-for-TV movie starring Poppy Montgomery.
Thus far we have not yet seen an official image of Ana de Armas as Marilyn Monroe in Blonde, and Netflix has not yet announced an official release date (which is in no way surprising), but the actress' talent and Andrew Dominik's passion for the project and skill as a filmmaker certainly have us excited for it. The movie will be released exclusively on the streaming service some time in 2021, and you'll be able to find more details about it here on CinemaBlend as we get ever closer to the release.
