The Witcher star Freya Allan is set to play Marianne Faithfull in the upcoming Zaida Bergroth-directed biopic, Marianne.
A stalwart of the Swinging London arts and music scene in the 1960s, Faithfull became one of the leading female artists during the British Invasion era, and died last month, aged 78.
Tributes poured out for the late singer, who had her first hit with the Mick Jagger–Keith Richards composition ‘As Tears Go By’, with Blur‘s Graham Coxon, The Charlatans‘ Tim Burgess, Cosey Fanni Tutti, Ed Harcourt, Warren Ellis, Ronnie Wood, Jamie Lee Curtis, Sir Paul McCartney, Morrissey, Metallica and more all penning personal tributes.
Finnish director Zaida Bergroth (Tove) is now set to direct a biopic, titled Marianne, chronicling the life of the London singer. The project is now in pre-production, and British actor and musician Jojo Macari (Sex Education) is attached to star as Jagger.
“From angel-innocent pop icon, actress of stage and screen and long-time muse and girlfriend of Mick Jagger, to homelessness, addiction, and ignominy,” a synopsis for the film reads, per Variety.
“Marianne will depict Marianne Faithfull’s rollercoaster ride from the brightest lights of the wild 1960s of her youth, to fallen golden girl and then her remarkable phoenix-like rise and resurgence” that “establishes her as one of the great icons and true artists of our time.”
The film is being produced by Julia Taylor-Stanley – who had previously worked on a Faithfull biopic that fell apart – and Finnish producer Roosa Toivonen. A biopic titled Faithfull had been in production since 2020 but has yet to be completed. In 2022, Lucy Boynton (Bohemian Rhapsody), who had been cast in the lead role, spoke to NME about taking on the part.
“Marianne Faithfull is someone who’s constantly had her identity prescribed to her or narrated on her behalf,” Boynton said. “I think she’s an extraordinary woman because she’s never been diluted by that. She’s so palpably herself and has always been yelling to us about who she is.
In NME’s tribute to the late singer, Nick Levine wrote: “Faithfull, who is survived by her son and grandchildren, had her share of tough times and dark nights of the soul. But somehow, her restless creative spirit always prevailed.
“She was also a master at burnishing her own mythology. “I’ll visit all the places I used to know so well, from Maida Vale to Chelsea,” she sang on her 2014 song ‘Give My Love To London’. “Paradise to hell, boys, paradise to hell.” In the end, she died in London surrounded by her family, rather closer to paradise than she might once have expected.”
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