Michelle Rodriguez to star in Steve McQueen’s Widows movie
Widows was a British crime miniseries that began in 1983 from actress/writer Lynda La Plante (Prime Suspect). Now, after winning three Academy Awards for 12 Years a Slave, director Steve McQueen is prepping a Widows movie. Empire is reporting that Michelle Rodriguez (The Fast and the Furious) is set to star. McQueen is also co-writing the film with Gone Girl‘s Gillian Flynn. Viola Davis (How to Get Away With Murder) and Cynthia Erivo (Mr. Selfridge) are also set to star in the film.
In the series, three robbers are killed during an crime and their widows Dolly Rawlins (Ann Mitchell), Shirley Miller (Fiona Hendley) and Linda Perelli (Maureen O’Farrell) enlist the help of Bella O’Reilly (Eva Mottley) to pull of the raids that their husbands failed at. In 2002, the series was redone for American television, with the widows and their partner trying to steal a painting. That series stared Mercedes Ruehl as Dolly Rawlins, Brook Shields as Shirley Heller, Rosie Perez as Linda Perelli and N’Bushe Wright as Bella O’Reilly.
In 2002, the first series was re-made for the American market, but the plot was significantly changed. Instead of a traditional armed robbery, this version united the three widows and the fourth woman in a plan to steal a famous painting. This version starred Mercedes Ruehl (The Fisher King) as Dolly Rawlins, Brooke Shields (Suddenly Susan) as Shirley Heller, Rosie Perez (White Men Can’t Jump) as Linda Perelli, and N’Bushe Wright (Blade) as Bella O’Reilly.
Rodriguez will be seen next as Leticia “Letty” Ortiz-Toretto in The Fate of the Furious which will hit theaters on April 14, 2017. Did you see the original series? Did you prefer the plot of the British version or the American one? Are you looking forward to the upcoming Widows movie? Let us know in the comments or tweet us @ComingSoonnet.