Rachel Weisz is pulling double duty in the upcoming remake of Canadian filmmaker David Cronenberg’s cult classic
Dead Ringers. Weisz will star as identical twins in roles that were originated by Jeremy Irons (and Jeremy Irons) and will produce the new project, which moves from the big screen to the small screen as a series with Amazon Studios.The upcoming
Dead Ringers remake, which acts as the Oscar-, Golden Globe- and BAFTA-winning actors’ first major TV project, will star Weisz as the Mantle twins. The women are brilliant OB-GYNs in Manhattan who are dedicated to improving the lives of their female clients and the way women in American give birth... but there's a twist.According to
Deadline, the dark drama will be similar in tone to the original 1988 film and delve into the women’s shared, identical reckless behaviour, including sex, drugs and illegal medical research. The series reportedly "takes us to darker and stranger territory than we could have possibly imagined" which is wild considering the premise of the '88 film was that the originally-male twins shared female sexual partners without the women's knowledge or consent. Where the new version will differ specifically is its spotlight on several issues plaguing women’s health care including chronic underfunding and out-of-date medical practices and procedures still in use.[video_embed id='2014255']RELATED: David Cronenberg thinks the new release of 'Crash' is the best yet [/video_embed]A fan of Cronenberg’s film, Weisz reportedly approached Annapurna TV with the idea of the gender-swapped remake. Alice Birch was brought on to write the series, which acts as her first major project since adapting Sally Rooney’s Man Booker Prize longlist novel
Normal People. The 2018 best seller was adapted into a series on Hulu earlier this year and earned
four Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series for Birch and Rooney. Although it’s unclear when production will begin on
Dead Ringers because of the ongoing pandemic,
Deadline is reporting that Birch has already begun staffing a virtual writers' room.In the original film, Irons plays Elliot and Beverly Mantle, twin gynecologists with a practice in Toronto and a very loose grasp on workplace professionalism. They share everything and coordinate multiple affairs with patients, but the pair’s relationship deteriorates after Beverly becomes obsessed with one of the women.
Dead Ringers won 10 Genie Awards and is considered
one of the greatest Canadian films ever released. The story is based on the novel
Twins, a fictionalized version of the
real-life twins Stewart and Cyril Marcus who were gynecologists in New York and died together at age 45 in 1975.Weisz’s longest-running TV appearance was in 1993 opposite Ewan McGregor in the four-part BBC miniseries
Scarlet and Black. Most recently, the British actor appeared in 2018’s
The Favourite with Olivia Colman and Emma Stone. Weisz took home a Best Actress in a Supporting Role BAFTA for the black comedy which also earned six more BAFTAs and scored 10 Oscar noms.
Dead Ringers marks Weisz’s induction into the club of actors who have famously played twins on screen, including Lisa Kudrow (
Friends), Armie Hammer (
The Social Network), Jackie Chan (
The Twin Dragons), Eddie Murphy (
Bowfinger), Chris Rock (
Bad Company), Leonardo DiCaprio (
The Man In The Iron Mask) and, of course, Lindsay Lohan (
The Parent Trap). Most recently, Mark Ruffalo has appeared as the Birdsey twins in the adaptation of Wally Lamb’s
I Know This Much Is True (streaming now on Crave).Weisz will next be seen the Marvel film
Black Widow, which was originally slated to open in May but has been delayed until November 6.[video_embed id='2015923']BEFORE YOU GO: Keanu Reeves makes 2020 'excellent' with 'Bill and Ted' return [/video_embed]
