Phillip Noyce is set to direct and Scarlett Johansson to star in Mary Queen of Scots, putting the film on course to start production in April, reports Variety.
The drama is a biography of the woman who became Scotland’s queen at 9 months in 1542 and, later, a rival to the English throne. Mary, a Roman Catholic, was imprisoned for many years on charges of plotting to murder Elizabeth I, a Protestant. Elizabeth eventually had her beheaded in 1587.
James McGovern (Crackers) wrote the script, and Melanie Johansson and Alexandra Milchan will produce. The film will shoot in London and Scotland.
