Zendaya, the Emmy-winning star of Euphoria and Spider-Man: No Way Home, is set to play the legendary Egyptian queen Cleopatra in a new biopic directed by Denis Villeneuve, the acclaimed filmmaker behind Dune and Arrival. The film, which is based on the best-selling book by Stacy Schiff, will explore Cleopatra’s ruthless rise to power using her skills as a seductress, a strategist, and a survivor.

According to a tweet by insider Daniel Richtman, Timothée Chalamet, who co-starred with Zendaya in Dune, was offered the role of Octavius, the Roman general who became Cleopatra’s enemy after the death of Julius Caesar. Daniel Craig, the current James Bond, is being sought to play Caesar, Cleopatra’s lover and ally. The film is expected to begin production in late 2024.

Dune

Cleopatra has been a popular subject for Hollywood adaptations, most famously portrayed by Elizabeth Taylor in the 1963 epic that nearly bankrupted 20th Century Fox.