The Martian and Zero Dark Thirty actress Jessica Chastain is set to take on a comic book role with Painkiller Jane.
The graphic novel series Panekiller Jane was written by Jimmy Palmiotti and Joe Quesada, the latter of which boasts being the longest-serving Marvel editor-in-chief other than Stan Lee. Quesada is also currently the Chief Creative Officer of Marvel Entertainment. Palmiotti is currently writing a run for Harley Quinn at DC Comics.
Deadline reported the news, stating:
Chastain, no stranger to playing tough female roles, will play Jane Vasko, a New York City street cop who gets recruited by the FBI to infiltrate a major NYC drug and human trafficking ring. In a near death experience, Jane develops exceptional regenerative abilities that give her a unique indestructible advantage. With nothing to live for and no way to die, Painkiller Jane becomes an unstoppable force of nature seeking revenge to those who destroyed her life as she leaves a path of death and destruction in her wake.
In a world dominated by male superhero films such as Fox’s Deadpool, Marvel’s Captain America, and DC’s Man of Steel, it’s nice to see yet another lady taking up the metaphorical cape to play a superhero of her own.
We’re also looking forward to Wonder Woman next year in 2017 and Captain Marvel in 2019, but that never feels like enough to balance out the industry.
With action movies coming up such as Alicia Vikander’s Lara Croft, we’re hoping this is an upward trend in female-led superhero and action films.