Beckinsale-arella?

Even though writers were just brought on board for a remake of the sci-fi sex-o-rama BARBARELLA, the actress rumor mill has already been whirling like Jane Fonda disrobing in zero-gravity.

The latest lass rumored to be slipping into (and out of, one expects/hopes) the attire of the sexy interstellar agent is infinitely lovely Kate Beckinsale, no stranger to genre (and skintight) material herself. According to a Daily Express gossip source, Beckinsale is “among the frontrunners” for the part of the dishy spacefaring heroine who likes to shag.

Of course, despite the Daily Express’ proclamation of being “The World’s Greatest Newspaper”, they’re probably not worth a shite as a source for valid movie news — just two days ago they declared Brit babe Sienna Miller as “top of the wish list” for the BARBARELLA role (they also labeled her as “younger and cheaper”, which seems accurate). I did, however, take advantage of an opportunity to use this photo of Beckinsale.

The libidinous antics of the 1968 kitsch classic will likely be downplayed for the update — producer Dino de Laurentiis previously said the new BARBARELLA would be more of a “female James Bond in space”, which is probably why he hired CASINO ROYALE scribes Neal Purvis and Robert Wade (who also wrote the previous two 007 catastrophes).