No, not the '90s British female hip-hop group Cleopatra. The other Cleopatra.
You know, the one who gave birth to Julius Caesar's only biological son, seduced his best friend Mark Antony after his assassination, and then killed herself by letting an asp bite her with Augustus Caesar tried to take her back to Rome as a prisoner of war. She's also one of the most recognised figures in literature, going all the way back to Shakespeare all the way up to Elizabeth Taylor's famous portrayal alongside Richard Burton in the '60s.
That Cleopatra. Deadline is now reporting that Denis Villeneuve's dance card post-Blade Runner 2049 will now include a long-gestating take on Cleopatra, as well as Frank Herbert's Dune. Villeneuve's career is about to skyrocket and the early talk is that he's more than likely in line for a Best Director nomination for the Oscars, off the back of his work on Blade Runner 2049.
We've been fans of Villeneuve going back to Prisoners and Enemy, and Sicario was by far the best film of 2015 and Arrival reminded us that intelligent sci-fi can still be done properly, if given a chance. Taking on a historical epic like Cleopatra will be new territory for Villeneuve, but everything we've seen so far from him has been nothing short of incredible - so we'll be following this one intently.
No release date has been set for Cleopatra, but expect there to be a lot of buzz around this one.
Via Deadline
