Last week I linked to Daniel Richtman’s report that Denis Villeneuve was indeed directing “Cleopatra” for Sony. Zendaya had, supposedly, accepted the titular role with Daniel Craig and Timothee Chalamet also offered roles.
I was then quickly contacted by Villeneuve’s reps who told me “the story was false.” They didn’t further elaborate. So, I headlined it as a “rumor,” for now. Nothing more, nothing less.
Well, here’s the rumor popping back up again.
Last night, the latest issue of Production Weekly went online and, lo and behold, “Cleopatra” was posted. There were new plot details and an Italy shoot set for the film. I’ll believe it when I see it, and I’ve contacted Villeneuve’s reps again for comment — no answer as of the publishing of this piece.
The plot details are as follow: “Cleopatra” revolves around the titular queen, a shrewd strategist and an ingenious negotiator, following her life that spans fewer than forty years. The project dives into her marriages with two of her brothers. She wages a brutal civil war against the first when both are teenagers and poisons the second. Ultimately, she dispenses with an ambitious sister as well, making incest and assassination family specialties.
The narrative also explores Cleopatra’s relationship with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, two of the most prominent Romans of the day and the only ones who have sex with her. Despite being married to another woman, Caesar ends up having a son with Cleopatra. After his death, she gets together with his protégé to give birth to three more children. The epic film depicts her as the wealthiest ruler in the Mediterranean and the most influential woman of the age. Cleopatra and Antony attempt to forge a new empire, in an alliance that spells their ends.
Scarpa has mentioned that the script is a “political thriller. Dirty, bloody, lots of people swearing and having sex and all of that other stuff and just a two-hour, lean, mean political thriller, full of assassinations, etc. Just going the opposite direction from the way we think that movie is going to go.”
Listen, I firmly believe that, after “Dune: Part Two” is released, and becomes an inevitable hit, Villeneuve will be able to make whichever film he desires. As far as I’m concerned there are three possibilities for his next project: “Dune: Messiah,” “Cleopatra” or Bond.