Netflix already has a king in Timothée Chalamet, and now the streaming studio has found its queen in Anya Taylor-Joy. OK, technically the upcoming Chalamet-led Shakespearean drama The King has nothing to do with The Queen’s Gambit, a new limited series starring the Glass actress. That said, both Netflix projects will potentially show new sides of two of the most exciting young actors of the moment in roles we can’t wait to see.
The Queen’s Gambit, based on Walter Tevis’ 1983 novel, will star Taylor-Joy as a young chess prodigy struggling with addiction. The new six-episode limited series comes from Godless creator and Logan screenwriter Scott Frank, who will direct and co-write, according to The Wrap. The series will follow a young orphan named Beth from the ages of eight to 22 as she works to become a chess Grandmaster while fighting addictions to tranquilizers and alcohol. Most intriguing though is Taylor-Joy’s casting, who’s most known for her work in films like The Witch, Split, and (the far-too-underrated) Thoroughbreds. As excellent as she is in each of those, it’ll be interesting to see her lead a more realistic drama outside of the heightened genre territory we’re used to watching her in.
This isn’t the first time the Tevis novel was in development for the screen. Back in 2007, an adaptation of The Queen’s Gambit was set to be Heath Ledger’s directorial debut before he died the following year. At the time, Ellen Page was expected to star in Taylor-Joy’s role.
Plan to see—er, hear—more of Taylor-Joy on Netflix once The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance prequel series hits the streaming service.