Olivia Munn has taken over the lead role in the new thriller ‘Hummingbird’ after Zoe Saldana pulled out.
The 37-year-old ‘Magic Mike’ actress is reportedly replacing Saldana, after the star was forced to quit the movie due to commitments with the upcoming ‘Avatar’ sequels, Empire has reported.
The new movie will be directed by Markus Kryler and Fredrik Akerstrom and follows the story of a black-ops assassin who is forced to confront her real identity after being assigned her next mark.
The film – which was written by John McClain – will be fully financed by Fundamental Films, who will produce the movie alongside Broken Road Productions.
Mark Gao, Gregory Ouanhon and Todd Garner will produce whilst Gary Glushon and Jeremy Stein will executive produce alongside Saldana, who will do so under her production company Cinestar Pictures.
Meanwhile, Saldana’s scheduling conflict comes as she is set to reprise her role as alien Neytiri in James Cameron’s highly anticipated four ‘Avatar’ sequels.
Not much is known about the upcoming movies, but Saldana will be joining a host of returning cast members including Sam Worthington, 40, and Sigourney Weaver, 67, as well as villain Stephen Lang and Giovanni Ribisi.
Kate Winslet has also joined the cast of the ‘Avatar’ sequels and will play a character called Ronal, but it isn’t yet clear whether her alter ego will be a Na’vi or a human.
Cliff Curtis will also star in the movie as Tonowari, the leader of the Metkayina, the reef people clan, in the Cameron-directed movies – all of which are poised to take place under water.
As Cameron recently revealed, the first movie will be released in 2020, followed by the other three in 2021, 2024 and 2025.