Sydney Sweeney has lined up her next movie after smash hits Anyone But You and Immaculate – and it's a sports biopic.
According to Deadline, Sweeney, who rose to fame in HBO's teen drama Euphoria, is set to play real-life boxer Christy Martin in a flick directed by The King's David Michôd. The publication also states that the filmmaker, along with production company Black Bear, hopes to shop the film at Cannes Film Festival later this month, before kicking off filming in the fall.
The untitled drama will reportedly chart Martin's rise to fame from amateur athlete to "female Rocky", as its producers say. It'll explore how she became the first woman to sign with iconic promoter Don King and the only female boxer to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated, as well as her tumultuous relationship with husband Jim Martin, too, who she met in 1989 when he became her manager. In 2012, the latter was found guilty of attempted second-degree murder, having brutally attacked Martin back in November 2010.
"I grappled and did kickboxing from 12-19 years old. I've been itching to get back into the ring, train, and transform my body," Sweeney said in a statement. "Christy's story isn't a light one, it's physically and emotionally demanding, there's a lot of weight to carry. But I love challenging myself."
"I have a history of making movies about damaged men and I’d been wanting to make a film about a woman with a ferocious energy inside her," added Michôd. "When I came across the Christy Martin story two years ago I knew I'd found it. Her ferocity is intelligible and justifiable and audiences will crave it because of the circumstances she was forced to endure."
For more, check out our list of the most exciting upcoming movies heading our way.
