The acting career of pop stars is always a fascinating thing to watch. For every David Bowie who makes a long and lasting side-career out of appearances in credible films, there’s a Madonna, who occasionally flirts with movies but has mostly abandoned them now, or a Britney Spears who only tries it once and never really goes back.
READ MORE: The 8 Essential Movie Performances Of David Bowie
Christina Aguilera is somewhere between those categories. The “Genie In A Bottle” songstress has a few credits to her name, but mostly as herself, in things like “Entourage” and “Get Him To The Greek,” with only Cher co-starring camp classic musical “Burlesque” as a true starring role. But she’s been making something of a comeback as a performer recently: she did a brief arc on “Nashville” in 2015, and will appear in Melissa McCarthy vehicle “Life Of The Party” in 2018. But her next gig might mark her biggest challenge to date: she’s teaming up with indie helmer Drake Doremus for his next picture.
A press release reveals that Aguilera has joined the cast of the sci-fi romance “Zoe,” along with “Divergent” actor Theo James, Rashida Jones, Miranda Otto and Matthew Gray Gubler, with Léa Seydoux and Ewan McGregor (who replaced the originally-cast Charlie Hunnam) still in the lead roles. Executive produced by Ridley Scott, the film tracks two colleagues at a research lab who are attempting to find a way to perfect romantic relationships.
READ MORE: Drake Doremus’ ‘Equals’ With Kristen Stewart & Nicholas Hoult Is Dazzlingly Dull [Review]
We like Doremus, but he came a bit unstuck with his previous sci-fi/love story hybrid “Equals” — we hope this has a bit more meat on its bones, but the impressive cast certainly seems to suggest it might, and we’re intrigued to see what Aguilera brings to the party here. In other casting news, face of the summer Sofia Boutella (“Kingsman,” “Star Trek Beyond,” “The Mummy,” “Atomic Blonde”) has joined Jodie Foster in “Iron Man 3” writer Drew Pearce’s directorial debut “Hotel Artemis” [Variety] and “Oldboy” villain Yu Ji-Tae has come on board Lars Von Trier’s “The House That Jack Built” [Screen Daily]