David O. Russell’s Joy may not have hit the dizzying hits of, say, Silver Linings Playbook or even American Hustle, but that hasn’t quelled Jennifer Lawrence’s enthusiasm to continue working with the director’s creative team.
That’s according to The Hollywood Reporter, revealing that The Hunger Games star is in line to take on the title role in Marita. Pitched by American Hustle co-writer Eric Warren Singer, the project has set up shop at Sony Pictures, and it’s understood the studio is eager to set the wheels in motion as soon as possible.
It’s a role that’ll have Lawrence portray another real-life woman following her turn as famed entrepreneur Joy Mangano, only this time swapping out novel domestic inventions for a daring CIA mission. Headlining the feature as Marita Lorenz, the actress is attached to the role of the German-born mistress of Fidel Castro, a former Cuban politician and revolutionary who presided over the Republic of Cuba from 1959 to 1976. At the time, Lorenz had an affair with Castro at only 19 years old, before she was recruited by the CIA to assassinate her former lover.
Singer and Lawrence’s involvement has us cautiously optimistic for Marita, with THR noting that the latter also plans to produce the thriller along with Scott Mednick, Matt Tolmach, and Andre Rouleau. The jury’s still out on a release window, though given that Sony picked up the project in the face of fierce competition from Warner, Fox and Paramount, you can readily expect the studio to hit the ground running with this one.
Should Lawrence sign along the dotted line, Marita has all the makings to be another dramatic feat for the actress in the months to come. Beyond X-Men: Apocalypse, we can also look forward to her starring opposite Chris Pratt in sci-fi flick Passengers and Darren Aronofsky’s latest, yet-to-be-titled picture.
