Director and actress Elizabeth Banks (Pitch Perfect 2) has revealed how she landed the task of rebooting Charlie’s Angels on the big screen. Speaking in an interview prior to receiving an industry award, she discussed how much she loves her job and looks forward to “the constant challenge”.
The original Charlie’s Angels was the cult crime drama television series that aired on ABC from 1976 until 1981, It was one of the most famous Aaron Spelling productions and produced five seasons and 110 episodes, making huge stars of its female leads at the time. There have been various attempts to re-launch the franchise over the years, with the most notable example being the McG (Terminator: Salvation) reboot in 2000. Starring Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, and Lucy Liu as the three Angels, it was followed by a sequel (Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle) in 2003 but no further entries were made. A more recent attempt to update the concept was the TV remake in 2011, developed by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar (Smallville), but that was canceled after only four episodes.
However, Banks landed the directing job for this new reimagining of the Charlie’s Angels brand, back in 2015. Ahead of receiving an “Excellence in Film” accolade from Women in Film, Banks spoke to THR about taking on the challenge of bringing the iconic female crime-fighters to the big screen again and how she was originally offered the project:
“It was mentioned to me in passing at a meeting at Sony, like, “Hey, we’d love you to do something with Charlie’s Angels.” I went home and, as a lot of creative people will say, I dreamed about it. It has to stay with you, you have to visualize it, you have to have some seeds of ideas. I felt like I had a take, so I went back in and pitched it, and they really liked it.”
Banks is one of industry figures that has managed to successfully combine production, directing and acting as part of her profile. The fact that she has already made a successful female-led franchise entry (albeit a comedy) in Pitch Perfect 2, bodes well for the future of the Angels, along with the fact that she seems anxious to do the concept justice and has pitched her own ideas into the mix. Since she took on the directing role, award-winning writers have been working on the script and the film now has a confirmed release date in June 2019. However, the cast and story specifics are details that have yet to be revealed.
The rest of THR‘s interview also hints at future projects and a wish list from Banks including; working with Kate McKinnon (Ghostbusters), the possibility of Pitch Perfect 4, and her upcoming adaptation of the YA fantasy book Red Queen for Universal. In a busy schedule, it’s hoped that she can do some real justice to the new version of Charlie’s Angels. As most recent TV-to-movie updates have been critically-panned semi-spoofs (Baywatch, Chips), the idea of a new butt-kicking line-up with a sturdy female director could be just what is needed for an update of this classic title. Screen Rant will keep you updated with any further news of the film’s release.
NEXT: First Look at the Pitch Perfect 3 Cast
Key Release Dates
Charlies Angels
Release Date:2019-11-15
