Brie Larson will replace Emma Stone in the upcoming true tennis tale, Battle of the Sexes
Brie Larson (Short Term 12, 21 Jump Street) will replace the formerly-attached Emma Stone in the upcoming true tennis tale, Battle of the Sexes. According to Variety, Stone had to drop out of the project due to schedule commitments. Steve Carell remains attached to play the male lead.
In development at Fox Searchlight Pictures, Battle of the Sexes is one of three big screen takes currently in development focusing on the highly-publicized 1973 tennis match. In real life, Bobby Riggs was an aging tennis pro whose match against the significantly younger Billie Jean King became a broadcast sensation with a lot more going on behind the scenes than most viewers of the day were aware. Steve Carell will play the Riggs role in this iteration with Brie Larson playing King.
Also in development is a Gary Sanchez Productions and Chernin Entertainment project Match Maker, set to star Will Ferrell as Riggs, and a Playtone version, Proof, that is planned to be headlined by Paul Giamatti as Riggs and Elizabeth Banks as King.
The Little Miss Sunshine and Ruby Sparks pair of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris will direct Battle of the Sexes from a screenplay by Slumdog Millionaire scribe Simon Beaufoy. What’s more, Danny Boyle will produce alongside Christian Colson through their respective companies, Decibel Films and Cloud Eight.
Brie Larson recently played sister to Amy Schumer in Judd Apatow’s Trainwreck. She can next be seen in Room, a psychological thriller from director Lenny Abrahamson that has received a lot of positive buzz from its Toronto International Film Festival debut. An A24 release, look for Room to hit theaters in New York and LA October 16, expanding November 6. After that, Larson is set to play the female lead in Legendary’s King Kong reboot, Kong: Skull Island.
(Photo Credit: C.Smith / WENN.com)
