Olivia Wilde, Margot Robbie and “X-Men” producer Simon Kinberg are joining forces for a feature adaptation of “Avengelyne,” a comic book character from “Deadpool” co-creator Rob Liefeld.
Wilde, whose filmmaking credits include “Booksmart” and “Don’t Worry Darling,” is attached to direct. Robbie’s company LuckyChap and her partners Tom Ackerley and Josie McNamara are producing. Kinberg, a writer and producer of “X-Men” tentpoles, will also produce the film.
The project doesn’t have a home yet, so the creative team will try to sell the film to studios and streamers in the coming weeks. It’s unclear who will play Avengelyne, an angel who fights the forces of evil and often finds herself face-to-face with demons and monsters. Rob Liefeld, best known for bringing to life the Merc with a Mouth, a.k.a. Deadpool, co-created the character of Avengelyne in 1995.
There were prior attempts to turn Avengelyne into a big-screen star, but they never got off the ground. In 2013, Gina Carano was attached to star in an adaptation. In 2016, Paramount reportedly nabbed rights for a version from filmmaker Akiva Goldsman.
LuckyChap has been in high demand after the blockbuster success of “Barbie,” which was the highest-grossing movie of 2023 and nominated for eight Academy Awards. Up next, the company is producing Wilde’s new Christmas comedy “Naughty” for Universal Pictures.
LuckyChap’s other major projects include the Oscar-winning dark comedy “I, Tonya,” and Emerald Fennell’s features, “Promising Young Woman” and “Saltburn.” It most recently backed the Sundance coming-of-age film “My Old Ass,” which sold to Amazon MGM Studios for $15 million.
