Isla Johnston Joins Baz Luhrmann’s Jehanne d’Arc
According to CinemaDrame News Agency, newcomer Isla Johnston is in talks with Warner Bros. to join Baz Luhrmann’s Jehanne d’Arc. Deadline has reported that the British actress—best known for playing the younger version of Beth Harmon in The Queen’s Gambit—will portray Joan of Arc in Luhrmann’s film. Previously, there had been rumors that Bella Ramsey was in negotiations for the role.
The film follows a young Joan of Arc, who believed she was a messenger sent by God to lead the French army in the 15th century and save her country during the Hundred Years’ War.
Over the decades, Joan of Arc’s story has been adapted to the screen multiple times, perhaps most memorably in The Passion of Joan of Arc, starring Renée Jeanne Falconetti. Directors such as Luc Besson, Roberto Rossellini, and Victor Fleming have also brought the tale to film.
Luhrmann co-wrote the screenplay for Jehanne d’Arc with Eva Pickett and recently held a reading at the Chateau Marmont—where the first draft of Rebel Without a Cause was famously read—for Warner Bros. executives.
Since 1992, Luhrmann has directed only six feature films, the most recent being Elvis (2022), which earned eight Oscar nominations and grossed $288 million worldwide. Three years ago, he released the director’s cut of Australia as a six-episode miniseries on Hulu.
