EXCLUSIVE: In what shapes up with the potential to be a big one, The Dish hears that this is about Avengelyne — an angel who fights the forces of evil — with Olivia Wilde directing, based on the signature comic book creation by Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld. Aboard to produce is LuckyChap, the shingle Margot Robbie runs with Tom Ackerley and Josey McNamara, and Simon Kinberg. I’ve heard the plan was for this to be developed for Robbie to star, but her camp is denying that part of it. A big A-list writer is circling to adapt.
The principals behind this are not commenting, but expect this one to hit the street within the next two weeks. LuckyChap is coming off Barbie, last year’s top grossing film with eight Oscar nominations. Wilde last directed Don’t Worry Darling and before that, Booksmart.
Avengelyne is an angel who fights the forces of evil and often finds herself face-to-face with demons and monsters. She was the most feared warrior in Heaven’s Warhost, having single-handedly broken into Pandemonium, the outer fortress of Hell, to confront the Devil himself. She is a fallen angel, banished from Heaven by God after being tricked into questioning his love for humans. Avengelyne was stripped of all her angelic abilities, other than her great strength and her blood, which, once extracted from her body, could be used as a weapon or a miracle once empowered by quoting verses from the Bible. Avengelyne uses her powers to fight demons on earth and is being groomed to be humankind’s last hope in a coming Armageddon. In the past, Liefeld has explained his heroine this way: “Avengelyne resonated so powerfully with the audience because her story of redemption is one that is so relatable. A fallen angel, sentenced to redeem herself by serving humanity, Earth is a foreign environment to her, she must adapt in order to save herself as well as mankind. Her dilemma provides humor amidst the larger plot engine driving her journey.”
Stay tuned.