We've finally got our first official look at Ana de Armas as Marilyn Monroe in upcoming Netflix biopic Blonde.
Based on Joyce Carol Oates's novel of the same name, the movie sees the No Time to Die star play the iconic actress in a fictionalised take on her life, following her journey from Norma Jeane Baker to the most sought-after celebrity in the world.
The streaming service has also confirmed that Blonde will be released on September 23, so get that date marked in your diary right now.
It was confirmed earlier this year that the movie will get the rare rating of NC-17 in the US over its explicit sexual content. The rating is the equivalent of an 18 in the UK, but writer-director Andrew Dominik has said the rating was necessary.
"The film is sincere. It's made with love. It's made with good intentions. But it's full of rage at the same time," he told Netflix Queue.
"I seem to get myself in these situations where people regard me as provocative, but it's never what I'm trying to do. I'm just trying to say it as clearly as I can. My ambition is to make you fall in love with Marilyn."
De Armas added: "He wanted the world to experience what it actually felt like to not only be Marilyn, but also Norma Jeane. I found that to be the most daring, unapologetic, and feminist take on her story that I had ever seen."
The teaser sees Marilyn composing herself backstage and saying, "Please come, don't abandon me". After the trailer goes through a series of flashy events, we cut back to this scene and it's clear it's Marilyn referring to herself as she looks at the camera and smiles.
It's clearly not going to be a completely upbeat movie, and Dominik has spoken about the need for it to be a "warts-and-all version" of Marilyn's life.
"It's a film that definitely has a morality about it," he explained. "But it swims in very ambiguous waters because I don't think it will be as cut-and-dried as people want to see it. There's something in it to offend everyone."
Blonde is released on Netflix on September 23.
Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
