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Elizabeth Banks & Margot Robbie Team Up to Adapt '80s Feminist Children's Book

Elizabeth Moss
AP Photo/Richard Shotwell

The Paper Bag Princess was about a princess who sets out to save Prince Charming.

A book called The Paper Bag Princess may sound like a strange concept, but the feminist children's novel from 1980 is actually really, really badass. In Robert Munsch's book, the damsel-in-distress narrative is thrown out in favor of a princess who sets out to save her Prince Charming when a dragon kidnaps him after destroying her castle and clothes. That's where the title comes in--she goes off on a quest to find him wearing only a paper bag.

Now, decades later, the film rights to this classic story have been bought up by Universal and better yet, Elizabeth Banks and Margot Robbie have teamed up to adapt it, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Banks is set to direct the film while both women will produce it. The dream is for Robbie to star in it, but that will depend on factors like the script and, most importantly, scheduling. Robbie is a busy woman and with a starring role in the Tanya Harding film I, Tonya set for release this year, she's about to blow up in a big way.

The film marks a continued push by Banks to tell more stories about strong female characters and put more women in roles in front of and behind the camera. She has several female-driven shows in the works, has partnered with YouTube to create female-driven comedy content, and is set to direct a reboot of Charlies Angels.

The film is a long way off, but we're hoping they'll stick with the original ending when it makes it to the big screen. By the end of the novel she saves the Prince, but because men are awful, he scolds her for not looking like a princess. She swerves away from that hot mess, calls him a "bum," and dances off into the sunset alone.

The Advocates with Sonia BaghdadyOut / Advocate Magazine - Jonathan Groff and Wayne Brady

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Chris Thomas