Co-starring Steve Carell, the upcoming biopic, BATTLE OF THE SEXES, was set to star Emma Stone as Billie Jean King, the 1973 female tennis pro who defeated a male former Wimbledon champion. However, due to a scheduling conflict, Stone had to leave the role, and now actress Brie Larson is in talks to play.
In the 40s, Bobby Riggs was one of the world’s top tennis players, and though he retired in 1951, he remained extremely involved with the sport. In 1973, with the rise of the feminist movement, he boasted he could beat every top female player, and two tennis stars took him on: Margaret Court, who lost, and Billie Jean King, who rose to the challenge and won, proving to the world that women’s sports could be taken seriously. It was a complicated and controversial win, and it’s a story that should give directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris as well as the actors a rich canvas to work with.
Larson is known for her work in 21 Jump Street, Trainwreck, and The Spectacular Now and has also been involved with the television shows Community and United States of Tara, as well as in numerous other projects. She can also be seen in Room, the buzzed-about thriller that just premiered at TIFF.
Larson is repped by WME and Authentic Talent and Literary Management.
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Kat Spanners | Staff Writer
This news was first reported by Variety.
