One of this year’s big cinematic trends appears to be attempting to rebalance the levels of kick-ass female characters on screen. With the likes of The Hunger Games, Brave and Kristen Stewart’s stronger version of Snow White, it’s not surprising to see that other filmmakers might be trying to jump on that bandwagon. We can now count Reese Witherspoon among them, as her production company has nabbed the rights to kids’ book series Pennyroyal’s Princess Boot Camp.
Animation writer MA Larson, who has her own history with films having worked as Mike Nichols’ assistant, has created a modern-day fairy tale about a school aimed at training girls as warrior princesses who must battle a rising tide of wicked witches. Assuming a film gets made, Witherspoon plans to take a supporting role.
“Finally, there is a princess story that reflects the values young women truly want to embody,” said Witherspoon in a statement sniffed out by the Heat Vision Blog. “These princesses are strong, independent and fierce and the knights are their match. In telling their story, Larson has created a magical universe that everyone will love to get lost in."
The books are, as seems to be the norm for such things, still on their way to stores. But Witherspoon and her producing partner Bruna Papandreas are hoping it’ll turn into a franchise.