Elizabeth Banks is adding yet another project to her slate. The multi-hyphenate is attached to direct, appear in, and exec produce a series adaptation of Victoria Aveyard’s novel “Red Queen” at Peacock. Variety confirmed the news.
Written by Aveyard and Beth Schwartz, the one-hour drama is “set in an alternate near-future America where democracy is replaced by a monarchy led by a group of humans with superpowers who rule with an iron fist over those without powers,” the source summarizes. “Mare, a fiery young woman born to poverty without powers, is doing the best she can to survive and protect her family when she discovers the unthinkable: She somehow has powers too. This shocking discovery turns our world upside down and catapults our unlikely hero to become the face of a revolution for the oppressed while searching for the truth behind the greatest mystery of all…how she became so powerful in the first place.”
Banks was attached to direct a film adaptation of the YA fantasy way back in 2015.
Schwartz, whose credits include “Arrow” and “Sweet Tooth,” will serve as showrunner on “Red Queen.”
Aveyard followed up “Red Queen,” her first novel, with sequels “Glass Sword,” “King’s Cage,” and “War Storm.” Her latest novel, “Realm Breaker,” the first installment of a new YA fantasy series, hit shelves May 4.
A three-time Emmy-nominated actor, Banks made her feature directorial debut with 2015 box office hit “Pitch Perfect 2” and followed it up with a 2019 “Charlie’s Angels” reboot led by Kristen Stewart. Her upcoming projects include “Cocaine Bear,” a thriller about a bear that was found dead of a drug overdose, and “The Invisible Woman,” a horror pic described as “‘Thelma & Louise’ meets ‘American Psycho.’” She’s directing both titles and starring in the latter.
