EXCLUSIVE: It appears Baz Luhrmann has found the title heroine for his Warner Bros epic Jehanne d’Arc. Deadline hears he’s in early talks with Isla Johnston to play Joan of Arc. You might remember her from Queen’s Gambit, where she played the younger version of the Beth Harmon character that was a breakout for Anya Taylor-Joy.
This was the hot role among young actresses — maybe not the right way to describe it, since Joan was burned at the stake in the 1400s after leading the troops in the Siege of Orleans and pressing for the coronation of Charles VII as the French king during the 100 Year War. She is considered a patron saint of France.
Luhrmann has been prepping the film, and he winnowed the field down to a small group of youngsters before deciding on Johnston. He wrote the script with Ava Pickett, a playwright who recently conducted the first reading of the script for most of the teams from Warner Bros, from production to marketing and publicity. This was done at the Chateau Marmont, in the room where the first draft of Rebel Without a Cause was read aloud for Warner Bros brass back in the day. Luhrmann’s design partner Catherine Martin backed up Pickett with a visual presentation.
Johnston has the offer, and this is certainly a potential career-making opportunity for the actress, who is repped by The Artists Partnership in the UK, and UTA.
