Even before she was the youngest person in history to secure a Best Actress nomination, Beasts of the Southern Wild star Quvenzhané Wallis proved she wasn’t simply a one-hit wonder. Along with her fellow Beasts star (and newcomer) Dwight Henry, they joined Steve McQueen‘s Shame follow-up Twelve Years a Slave, and now another potentially huge role has come down the pipeline.
After losing its star in the aging Willow Smith, but finding a director with Sony favorite Will Gluck (Easy A, Friends with Benefits), Entertainment Weekly reports that Wallis is in the running to star as Annie. Although they haven’t made any casting decisions yet, the new musical adaptation is being produced by entertainment icons Will Smith and Jay-Z and will draw on both the hit Broadway musical and the original comic strips.
Gluck will also rewrite the script from screenwriter Emma Thompson, who previously took over from We Bought a Zoo and The Devil Wears Prada’s Aline Brosh McKenna. Wallis, discovered by Benh Zeitlin and crew during the Beasts casting process, is clearly on her way to major stardom at a young age and I can easily see her taking on this role. Check out a song that will certainly have a place in the movie below.
Annie is expected to arrive in 2014 after a fall production.