Angelina Jolie To Play Cleopatra?

Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in 1963s ‘Cleopatra’

Angeline Jolie has confirmed that she is in talks to play Cleopatra in an upcoming film.

Whilst speaking to Edith Bowman on Radio 5 Live, Jolie said; ‘We’ve been working on it. There have been lots of different ideas of directors and lots of different discussions. The script has been written by Eric Roth, who is a dear friend and a brilliant writer.

Eric Roth wrote the script for Forrest Gump, and won the Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award in 1994 for his work on the film. He more recently wrote the script for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button in 2008, starring Brad Pitt.

Although the project has been in the works for the past several years, this is the first time it has been mentioned recently as in development.

A film on the life of Cleopatra has also been made before; the 1963 epic drama Cleopatra starring Elizabeth Taylor. The film infamously ran over production schedule and budget by a great amount, and caused a scandal for the public affair between married co-stars Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, playing Mark Anthony.

Although the film was a box office failure, and almost brought 20^th Century Fox to bankruptcy (they were saved by The Sound of Music!) it was nominated for nine academy awards, winning four, and is now considered a classic.

Jolie also hinted that this could be her last role, saying; ‘It’s one of those that you think maybe that’s the one you put everything into and that’s where you end it, that’s where you finish, in a great way!’

This isn’t the first time that Jolie has hinted that she may stop acting, as recently during a press conference, she said; ‘I’m sure there will be more films but I am happy I am able to be selective and have fun with characters like [Maleficent], but I would like to focus on writing and directing, and above all I would like to focus more on my work with the United Nations and the Protecting Sexual Violence Initiative.’

Jolie has previously directed the 2007 documentary A Place in Time, wrote the screenplay and directed 2011s In the Land of Blood and Honey, and also directed the upcoming film Unbroken, due for release in late 2014.

Jolie is currently promoting Maleficent, the live action Disney film telling the story of Sleeping Beauty from the point of view of the evil antagonist, Maleficent, which is out in cinemas now.

This is her first role since 2010s The Tourist with Johnny Depp, and a voice performance in 2011s Kung Fu Panda 2.

What do you think about another Cleopatra film being made? What do you think about Angelina Jolie retiring from acting and moving into writing and directing? Let us know in the comments below!