Jessica Chastain to play Marilyn Monroe in new biopic

Jessica Chastain could be about to step into the shoes of a silver screen icon, with The Wrap reporting that she is in discussions to play Marilyn Monroe in a new biopic.

According to the report, Chastain is nearing a deal to star in Blonde , Andrew Dominik’s adaptation of the Joyce Carole Oates biography of the same name.

Naomi Watts had initially been attached to play Monroe, but recently departed the project, freeing things up for Chastain to step into the breach.

Produced by Brad Pitt, Dominik claims this version of the Monroe story will come together as a “sprawling, emotional nightmare, fairy-tale type movie”, which certainly sounds more interesting than your run of the mill biopic.

With a Dominik-penned script already in place, production on Blonde is set to begin this summer, ahead of a planned release date in 2015.

George Wales

George was once GamesRadar's resident movie news person, based out of London. He understands that all men must die, but he'd rather not think about it. But now he's working at Stylist Magazine.