Baz Luhrmann has found his Joan of Arc, but should this story really be told again? The definitive version was released over 100 years ago, and nobody’s topped it since then.
Regardless, Luhrmann is in talks with ‘Queen’s Gambit’ actress Isla Johnston to headline his Warner Bros. epic “Jehanne d’Arc.” Johnston played the young Beth Harmon in the hit Netflix series, the role that later became a breakout for Anya Taylor-Joy.
In what might seem like one of the most unusual creative pairings in recent memory, Baz Luhrmann is teaming up with “Schindler’s List” author Tom Keneally to bring the story of Joan of Arc to the screen. Warner Bros is on-board to produce. The project will be based on Keneally’s 1974 novel “Blood Red, Sister Rose,” a deeply intimate retelling of the French saint’s final years.
Luhrmann, whose last outing was the maximalist “Elvis” biopic, co-wrote the screenplay with British playwright Ava Pickett (“1536”), whose work similarly probes power, feminism, and historical mythmaking.
Their take on “Jehanne d’Arc” won’t be a raw biopic. Expect a dreamlike dive into Joan’s fractured psyche. If Luhrmann’s past work is any indication — “Moulin Rouge,” “The Great Gatsby” — this also won’t be anything like Dreyer’s “The Passion of Joan of Arc.”
Luhrmann has reportedly immersed himself in 15th-century culture, even going so far as to try on period armor as part of his research process. Catherine Martin, Luhrmann’s longtime production and costume collaborator (and wife), will once again be involved.
Filming is set to begin in Gold Coast later this year, which is where Luhrmann resides. No release date has been announced by Warner Bros just yet.