After taking a bit of a break from the limelight following the release of her war filmUnbroken, actress/filmmakerAngelina Jolieis lining up a series of new projects as both acting vehicles and directorial efforts. Jolie was planning on directing the large-scale elephant and rhino poaching dramaAfricaafterUnbroken, which would have reunited her with cinematographerRoger Deakinsand was set to starBrad Pitt, but the project hit pause over budget issues. ThatUnbrokenfailed to make a splash at the Oscars also didn’t help, and now in the wake of Jolie and Pitt’s divorce, it appears she’s no longer involved withAfricaand the project is moving forward without her (and with a smaller budget).
However, as Jolie readies the release of her Cambodian genocide Netflix dramaFirst They Killed My Fatherlater this year, she’s gearing up to tackle some larger scale projects both in front of and behind the camera. PerTHR, Jolie has an offer to return forMaleficent 2for Disney and is also developing a pair of large-scale projects at Universal:Catherine the Great and Potemkin: The Imperial Love Affair, and a World War II spy drama calledThe Spy Who Loved, based onClare Mulley’s book of the same name.
Jolie was in early talks to join the ensemble ofKenneth Branagh’sMurder on the Orient Express, but those talks broke down after the production needed to move forward while Jolie was still offering script notes. No matter,Catherine,The Spy Who Loved, andMaleficent 2all offer meaty roles for the Oscar-winning actress, and while she’s turned down offers forWanted 2andSalt 2, she’s clearly still interested in starring in large-scale projects—assuming the script is right.
As for directorial efforts, THR adds that Jolie is prepping an adaptation ofAlessandro Baricco’s novelWithout Blood, which is a fable about the brutality of war. Indeed, Jolie has previously stated that she’s really only interested in directing projects that speak to some larger humanistic truth, so don’t expect her to saddle up forCaptain Marvel.
There’s also Universal’sBride of Frankensteinremakethat the studio hoped so badly Jolie would star in that they greenlit her little-seen 2015 dramaBy the Sea. That project is now a ways off as it’s still searching for a writer, and Jolie seems focused on other films for the time-being. She’s also mulling over Sony’sShoot Like a Girlas a star-vehicle, which tells the story of an American Air Force major and helicopter pilot who challenged the military’s exclusion of women from combat operations.American SniperscribeJason Hallis penning a new draft of the script.
So what will Jolie choose next? I’m still dying to see herCleopatramovie directed byDavid Fincherbut it sounds like that’s definitely dead. BeforeMaleficent, Jolie’s last stint in front of the camera was 2011’sThe Tourist, so she could definitely use a high-profile acting role in a project that showcases her talents. Will that beCatherine the GreatorThe Spy Who LovedorShoot Like a Girl, or will she put her focus on directingWithout Bloodnext? Time will tell.
