The Charlize Theron vehicle “The Coldest City,” based on the graphic novel by Antony Johnston and Sam Hart, has a release date and a new title. According to Deadline, the upcoming Cold War thriller is now “Atomic Blonde” and will be released July 28.
“Atomic Blonde” centers on “Her Majesty’s most lethal assassin Lorraine Broughton.” Directed by David Leitch (“Deadpool 2”) and adapted by Kurt Johnstad (“300”), the film will follow “Agent Broughton to Berlin to deliver a priceless dossier out of the destabilized city. There she partners with embedded station chief David Percival (James McAvoy, ‘Split’) to navigate her way through the deadliest game of spies,” Deadline summarizes.
As we wrote when news of “The Coldest City” first broke, bringing Broughton to the big screen is exciting and casting Furiosa herself as Broughton is an excellent choice. However, the new title — and official poster, below — has us a little nervous. And a tad annoyed. It appears whoever renamed the film (probably execs at Focus Features, its studio) thought a bad pun and a somewhat-sexualized image of Theron in fishnets and boots are essential in getting audiences to care about Agent Broughton. Plus, the title’s emphasis on Broughton’s hair color is cheesy.
The obvious play for male audiences is especially egregious since the main focus of the book’s cover, also below, is barbwire fencing. There is a silhouette of a woman, but neither her hair nor her outfit are significant. We understand that Theron — a bona fide movie star — needs to be at the center of promotional material for “Atomic Blonde,” but why do they insist on introducing audiences to her character like this? Can you imagine James Bond being depicted like this in a poster?
Title and poster aside, we’re keeping an open mind about “Atomic Blonde.” Theron is still a boss bitch, and Agent Broughton’s story still sounds interesting. We just wish that Focus Features and co. would realize that cashing in on a woman’s looks and sex appeal isn’t the only way to get audiences to see a movie about her.
Theron’s other upcoming films include “Tully” (for which she reunited with her “Young Adult” collaborators Diablo Cody and Jason Reitman), the latest installment of “The Fast and the Furious” franchise, “The Fate of the Furious,” and another spy thriller, “Need to Know.” The Oscar winner is also producing “Marie Colvin,” a biopic about the late war photographer.
“Atomic Blonde” will make its debut March 12 at SXSW and hits theaters nationwide July 28.
Scroll down to see the official “Atomic Blonde” movie poster and the cover of “The Coldest City.”
