Tim Burton is reportedly set to direct a remake of Attack of the 50 Foot Woman – and Margot Robbie may be the top pick for the title role.
As reported by Variety, Robbie is currently in talks to star in and produce the reimagining of the 1958 sci-fi classic, under her acclaimed production company LuckyChap.
Should the deal go through, she’ll be joined behind the scenes by producing partners Tom Ackerley and Josey McNamara.
Attack of the 50 Foot Woman quick links
Burton’s attachment to the project was announced earlier this year, with Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn originally tapped to write the script. However, Flynn has since exited in favour of other commitments, and a new writer is now being sought. Sources say Robbie’s involvement will hinge on the strength of the final script.
What is Attack of the 50 Foot Woman about?
A genre parody in its time, Attack of the 50 Foot Woman is best remembered for its campy effects and larger-than-life feminist iconography. The original film followed a wealthy heiress who, after a run-in with an alien spacecraft, grows to giant proportions and wreaks havoc on the men who wronged her.
With Burton’s affinity for stylised horror and Robbie’s track record for giving complex women their due (Barbie, I, Tonya, Birds of Prey), this remake could potentially lean more into the satire than its predecessor.
From our review of Barbie: ‘Margot Robbie nails her role as Stereotypical Barbie, the Barbie everyone thinks of when they tell you to think of Barbie. Superbly cast, she plays both a believable plastic doll, perfectly dressed and made-up for her daily strolls in Barbieland, and an uncanny valley humanoid who has discovered death for the very first time.’
‘It is the kind of feminism that spurs conversation about how tough it is to be a woman – or just not a cis-man – in the world, without asking women to reject culturally feminine things like wearing pink and frills. Barbie says we can have both, and while its politics aren’t super deep, it’s more than enough for its target audience of teens and children to start thinking critically about gender norms.’ Read more.
ScreenHub: Barbie review – this Barbie will bust the block
Why Burton & Robbie make sense in Attack of the 50 Foot Woman
LuckyChap has continued to grow its producing pedigree since the billion-dollar success of Barbie. The Mattel bankrolled hit, directed by Greta Gerwig and led by Robbie herself, resulted in Warner Bros. signing a first-look deal with the company, paving the way for continued collaborations like this one.
On Burton’s end, his Beetlejuice sequel (Beetlejuice Beetlejuice) proved he still has box office draw. The film, released in 2024, pulled in over $450 million globally – a staggering figure for a decades-later follow-up.
From our Beetlejuice Beetlejuice review: ‘Though ultimately I didn’t find it to be as refreshing as the original (a near impossible task to begin with, so let’s forgive Burton for that), I enjoyed Beetlejuice Beetlejuice a lot and in many moments found myself snort-laughing at the tightly-written jokes and excellent lead performances. Oh, and there are at least two dance sequences. That makes it more than worth the cost of the movie ticket, I reckon.’
Burton’s return to the director’s chair for Attack of the 50 Foot Woman continues his long-running relationship with Warner Bros., and suggests the studio is betting big on familiar names with proven creative chops.
As for Robbie, while she’s been busy producing since Barbie, she’ll next appear on-screen with Colin Farrel in Kogonada’s A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, and in Emerald Fennell’s forthcoming Wuthering Heights adaptation.
No release date has been set for Attack of the 50 Foot Woman.
