Jessica Chastain is one of the most in-demand actress working today, and has a slew of dramatic parts (including next year’s Woman Walks Ahead) in the works, but now we’re hearing that she’s also attached to star in and produce a big screen adaptation of Jimmy Palmiotti and Joe Quesada’s comic series, Painkiller Jane. Chastain will play the lead role of Jane Vasko, a tough New York beat cop who develops incredible healing abilities.
Painkiller Jane was created back in the ’90s and although she’s never been a mainstream character, she has crossed over with the likes of The Punisher, Hellboy and Vampirella. There was also a short-lived Sci-Fi channel TV series based on Miss Vasko’s exploits in 2007 which starred Terminator 3 actress Kristanna Loken.
Here’s how Deadline describes this latest incarnation:
Jane Vasko is a New York City street cop who gets recruited by the FBI to infiltrate a major NYC drug and human trafficking ring. In a near death experience, Jane develops exceptional regenerative abilities that give her a unique indestructible advantage. With nothing to live for and no way to die, Painkiller Jane becomes an unstoppable force of nature seeking revenge to those who destroyed her life as she leaves a path of death and destruction in her wake.
The Painkiller Jane movie was actually first reported on back in 2014, and back then American Mary directors Jen and Sylvia Soska were said to be in line to helm the picture. There’s no mention of them here, but we’ll be sure to keep you updated if more information becomes available.
