Warner Bros is backing Baz Luhrmann’s new film, as he embarks on a Joan Of Arc project: more on the film here.
We’ve seen Joan Of Arc brought to life on the big screen before, with the French peasant girl turned military leader having been rendered on the screen as early as 1928’s The Passion Of Joan Arc.
Like any historical figure worth their salt, Joan Of Arc was also the subject of competing projects at one point back in the late 1990s when a Canadian mini-series and the Luc Besson-helmed Milla Jovovich-led film The Messenger arrived in the very same year.
You know what we’ve never seen though? A Baz Luhrmann take on Joan of Arc.
Luhrmann’s bombastic style of filmmaking is always entertaining but the story of Joan Of Arc seems especially well-suited to his talents: the project is said to be ‘an epic film about a young French peasant girl who claimed to be acting under divine guidance’ and the character’s dizzying rise to power and glory is one that we can see Luhrmann adding lots of zest to in his project – titled Jehanne d’Arc.
Joan of Arc ‘became a military leader during France’s Hundred Years’ War with the English, and was honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orleans as well as helping install Charles VII to power. After two defeats and brief capture, she was burned at the stake for heresy.’
Speaking of duelling projects, this isn’t Luhrmann’s first stab at a historical drama. He was developing an Alexander The Great film at the same time as Oliver Stone. The latter got his film into production first and Luhrmann’s project collapsed. Alexander was released in 2005 with Colin Farrell in the title role, although reviews for the film were not especially kind.
Luhrmann’s last film was Elvis in 2022. That biopic was nominated for eight Oscars and had a $288 million global gross which we imagine has helped convince Warner Bros that Luhrmann can entice audiences in with a new Joan Of Arc movie. We’ll let you know as we hear more, including the all-important casting of the celebrated French icon.
