Scarlett Johansson, 'Lucy': 'Avengers' Actress to Star in Director Luc Besson's Hot Super Hero Action Movie

Scarlett Johansson has portrayed Black Widow in two films now (Iron Man 2 and The Avengers) and will reprise her role in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, so we know that the 28-year-old actress is comfortable in action movies. Director Luc Besson thinks so, too. The famed French director who is known to put women front and center in his action movies has just cast the star in his latest directorial project, Lucy. Besson is best known for his films Leon: The Professional and The Fifth Element.

Lucy, written by Besson, centers on a young woman who is forced into a life of a drug mule. After the drugs get into her system, Lucy is transformed into an "ass-kicking machine." She develops super powers that allow her to absorb knowledge instantaneously, move objects with her mind and feel no pain or other discomforts.

Here is an excerpt from The Hollywood Reporter's coverage of the casting:

"Lucy brings Besson back to his 1990s heyday, when he made movies with strong heroines such as La Femme Nikita and Joan of Arc as well as, to a lesser extent, The Professional and The Fifth Element. He most recently wrapped the Mafia drama Malavita, which stars Michelle Pfeiffer, Tommy Lee Jones and Robert DeNiro; the movie will be distributed by Relativity later this year. 

"The deal keeps Johansson in the action game. The actress, known for her turn as butt-kicking operative Black Widow in the Marvel movies The Avengers and Iron Man 2, would shoot Lucy after wrapping Marvel's Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which she is filming."

What do you think of this casting news? Are you looking forward to Lucy? Is Scarlett Johansson ready to take on a lead role in an action movie? Do you think this could turn into a franchise?