Effie Trinket and Harley Quinn tackle a children’s book in their next producing venture.
In what continues to be a busy year for Elizabeth Banks, Banks will join forces with Margot Robbie to bring The Paper Bag Princess to the big screen, Variety reports.
“The Paper Bag Princess”, written by Robert Munsch and illustrated by Michael Martchenko, been reprinted over 90 times and selling over 10 million copies since the book’s publication in 1980. The book tells a story of a princess who has to rescue her fiance from a menacing dragon. In a twist of the typical damsel-in-distress fairytale, “The Paper Bag Princess” subverts gender roles in children’s narratives, allowing gumption and bravery to shine through for its female protagonist.
The highly popular book was apparently part of a bidding war with the likes of Warner Bros. Banks will produce an adaptation of the beloved children’s classic with Robbie for Universal Pictures. Banks is likely to direct The Paper Bag Princess and Robbie could feature in an acting role in the film alongside her producing credit. Katie Silberman is tapped to write the screenplay for The Paper Bag Princess.
If anything, the concept of The Paper Bag Princess is rather reminiscent of Disney Princess movies, especially recent ones that subvert gender stereotypes and focuses on empowering young women, like Frozen. The comparison may elicit groans from some. But really, without the overexposure, Frozen was actually not that bad. So it’s reasonable to believe that The Paper Bag Princess, a tale about self-reliance in the absence of worldly possessions, could do similarly well and maybe even be as popular.
In the meantime, both Banks and Robbie have big projects slated for release before the year is up. While Banks did not return as director for Pitch Perfect 3, she was still directly involved through her production company, Brownstone, and will reprise her role as Gail Abernathy-McKadden from the previous Pitch Perfect movies. Robbie starred in and served as producer on her biopic of Tonya Harding, I, Tonya, with her company, LuckyChap Entertainment. I, Tonya will receive a wide domestic release on December 8th while Pitch Perfect 3 hits cinemas in time for Christmas on December 22nd.
Related Topics: Elizabeth Banks, Margot Robbie
