Cate Blanchett is signing on to play a comedy legend by portraying I Love Lucy comedienne Lucille Ball in an authorized biopic written by Aaron Sorkin.
The Wrap exclusively reported today that the film centered on Ball’s 20-year marriage to her I Love Lucy co-star and cohort Desi Arnaz. The two were married between 1940 and 1960, which included the entire six-season run of I Love Lucy during 1951 through 1957.
The untitled project will be produced by Lucy Arnaz Jr. and Desi Arnaz Jr. No additional casting details regarding Arnaz or an attached director have yet been revealed.
Blanchett has had her share of biopics before, including Katherine Hepburn in The Aviator, Bob Dylan in I’m Not There, and Queen Elizabeth I in her two Elizabeth films, but she’s rarely dipped her toes into comedic waters. Next she’s set to appear in the Oscar-ready Carol from Todd Haynes and is also attached to a Terrence Malick project and Andy Serkis’s Jungle Book: Origins. Sorkin meanwhile is the screenwriter on the upcoming Steve Jobs biopic.