Johansson of the Jungle

By Joshua Tyler Nov 8, 2005, 2:17 GMT

Scarlett Johansson stars as a "gladiatrix" in the year 200 B.C. When her homeland is destroyed by an invading army, Johansson exacts her revenge. ...more

In one of the weirdest casting moves of the year, Variety says Scarlett Johansson has been signed to play a character described as a “gladiatrix" from the year 200 B.C. Think a female version of Conan the Barbarian.

The movie will be called 'Amazon', a name used on at least a dozen other movies before this one, most of them really really bad. 'Amazon' is a revenge pic, and Johansson's Amazonian warrior character goes out for vengeance when an army destroys her homeland. Odds are she lost more than just a beloved family pet.

Scarlett seems an unusual choice to play the type of character you'd expect from say... Chyna or perhaps Lucy Lawless. But the idea as it turns out was hers. Variety reveals that the movie is based on something Johansson mentioned to' screenwriters Alex Kurtzman and Bob Orci when they worked together on the failed summer blockbuster 'The Island'.

'Amazon' will be financed by Moshe Diamant Signature Pictures. Dirk Blackman and Howard McCain will write the script while Kurtzman and Orci produce with Melanie Johansson, Gilles Arondeau, and Alexandra Milchan-Lambert.

When not playing Wonder Woman without the magic lasso, Scarlett will be starring in two upcoming dramas. The first is 'The Black Dahlia' for Brian DePalma, and then she'll do an as of yet untitled project for nebbish director Woody Allen.