Barbra Streisand's Biopic 'Catherine The Great', Keira Knightley In The Lead Role?

Barbra Streisand is back in directing feature films with a biopic that will evolve around Catherine the Great after 20 years of absence in the field. And apparently, Keira Knightley, known for her historical pieces such as Pride and Prejudice, The Duchess and Anna Karenina, might be playing the lead role as Catherine the Great in this biopic.

According to The Wrap, Knightley is already in talks in playing the famous Russian ruler Catherine the Great, born as Sophia Augusta Fredericka. The biopic will follow young Catherine's life born to German royalty. She was then married to Russian heir Peter the Third, where she experienced an abusive marriage. She went into power when her husband was assassinated and went on to rule Russia from 1762 to her death in 1796. She's famous for being the longest-running female monarch of Russia.

The role for Peter III is still undergoing casting.

Since this will be a biopic, Catherine's personal life will surely be included. The Empress, aside from having the cunningness and intelligence that had allowed her to rise to power, was said to have an ample amount of sexual appetite. It was believed she had 3 lovers during her marriage and that none of her children was of the late Peter and had a total of over 20 lovers in the course of her life. The actress is yet to respond regarding this news.

Keira Knightley has handled a lot of period characters and surely the actress wouldn't have problems playing as Catherine. The actress practically made her career out of historical films. One can say this is the actress' forte.

Catherine the Great biopic will be Streisand's fourth movie, following Yentl, The Prince of Tides and The Mirror Has Two Faces. The film is based on Kristina Lauren Anderson's screenplay which topped the 2014 Black List of Hollywood's best-unproduced screenplays. It will be produced by Gil Netter (Life of Pi and The Blind Side).