Sydney Sweeney To Play Boxer Christy Martin In New Film From ‘The Rover’ Director David Michôd

Glen Powell isn’t the only star of hit rom-com Anyone But You who is highly in demand. His co-star Sydney Sweeney is at the top of every list, and she’s just landed a knockout role in a boxing biopic from Animal Kingdom director David Michôd.

Black Bear has announced that Sydney Sweeney will star as boxer Christy Martin in an untitled boxing drama directed by David Michôd, who also co-wrote the script with Mirrah Foulkes (Judy and Punch).

From the press release: The film tells the unbelievable true story of formidable Christy Martin, who rose to fame as America’s most successful female boxer in the 1990s. A naturally gifted fighter, Christy’s life transformed in 1989 when she met her manager, and later husband, Jim Martin. Breaking boundaries, she became the first woman to sign with iconic promoter, Don King, and the only female boxer to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Christy’s charisma, good looks and unwavering resilience in the ring won her a wide fanbase and propelled her to become welterweight champion. Behind this well-honed public persona, Christy tackled personal demons, toxic relationships, and an attempt on her life, proving that a fighter’s hardest won victories aren’t always in the ring.

A previous attempt at a Christy Martin film had Amy Schumer in talks to play the renowned fighter.

Sweeney’s a trained kickboxer so this role should suit her to a tee. This has been a huge year for the Euphoria breakout already. Anyone But You took a lot of people by surprise both for the $219M box office and her chemistry with Powell. She also starred in Madame Web and the buzzy horror film Immaculate, which she produced and developed.

Michôd is known for his Australian thrillers Animal Kingdom with Joel Edgerton and The Rover with Robert Pattinson, plus War Machine with Brad Pitt and the series Catch-22 for George Clooney. He also directed Timothee Chalamet in The King. In short, Michôd works with the best, and the best work with him. Now you can add Sweeney to that list.

Travis Hopson has been reviewing movies before he even knew there was such a thing. Having grown up on a combination of bad '80s movies, pro wrestling, comic books, and hip-hop, Travis is uniquely positioned to geek out on just about everything under the sun. A vampire who walks during the day and refuses to sleep, Travis is the co-creator and lead writer for Punch Drunk Critics. He is also a contributor to Good Morning Washington, WBAL Morning News, and WETA Around Town. In the five minutes a day he's not working, Travis is also a voice actor, podcaster, and Twitch gamer. Travis is a voting member of the Critics Choice Association (CCA), Washington DC Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA), and Late Night programmer for the Lakefront Film Festival.