It’s fair to say Kaya Scodelario‘s career has gone from strength to strength since she played Nicholas Hoult‘s little sister Effy on Skins. Now the 25-year-old has scored a lead role in new action film Die in a Gunfight, starring opposite Hunger Games‘ Josh Hutchinson.
Just this year she’s starred in Dead Men Tell No Tales, the latest Pirates of the Carribbean movie, and also reprised her role in the final installment of the Maze Runner series, The Death Cure, which has also just had its first trailer released.
And this new role, announced yesterday (September 25), is not just any lead, either. Kaya will play Mary, whose passion for Ben (Hutcherson) sets her on a collision course with her family. The whole thing is set against a backdrop of corporate espionage, revenge, and a long-standing feud between two important families.
Sound familiar? Well, it would, as the plot of Die in a Gunfight is in fact a reimagining of Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare’s classic tale of two star-crossed lovers.
“Ben and Mary” just doesn’t have the same ring to it, does it?
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the tragic story will be shifted to the modern-day setting of “corporate espionage,” and will also star X-Men: Apocalypse‘s Olivia Munn and Oscar winner Helen Hunt.
Sounds promising. And then there’s the producers’ description of the film, summarized as “true love conquers all… but if it can’t, it’ll at least ensure you go out swinging, in spectacular fashion.”
How do you think this will compare with Baz Luhrmann’s classic 1996 retelling of Shakespeare’s play?