Brat summer might be officially over, but Charli XCX season is just getting started. For soon will arrive the next stage in her evolution to preeminent pop girlie status: a lead role in 100 Nights of Hero, which comes after she signed on for roles in Faces of Death and Gregg Araki’s I Want Your Sex, in case you thought there was anything she couldn’t do. And she’s not the only online fave who has joined the cast of the coming adaptation of Isabel Greenberg’s queer graphic novel—Emma Corrin, Nicholas Galitzine and Longlegs‘ Maika Monroe are all set to star this jam-packed ensemble of the internet’s main characters, per Deadline. Who cast this, PopCrave?
They’re big on X for good reason. Corrin just starred opposite Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds in Deadpool & Wolverine, with a Letterboxd-friendly part to come in Robert Eggers’ new Nosferatu remake. Since his mainstream breakout in last year’s Red, White and Royal Blue, Galitzine has steadily staked a claim as one of Hollywood’s up-and-coming leading men, having starred as Anne Hathaway’s pop star muse in hit rom-com The Idea of You earlier this year. And then there’s Monroe, whose Longlegs was one of the biggest pound-for-pound Hollywood success stories of 2024, being the en-vogue horror movie that everyone was talking about over the summer.
Oh, and it has a hot director, too: Julia Jackman, whose coming-of-age debut Bonus Track, co-written by Josh O’Connor, was well-received earlier this year.
But what is 100 Nights of Hero actually about?
Good question! It’s based on a graphic novel by Isabel Greenberg that was published in 2016, which takes place in Medieval times and was inspired by The Arabian Nights. The story concerns a woman called Cherry whose husband Jerome gambles her freedom in a wager with his friend Manfred, the bet being that in Manfred can seduce Cherry in 100 nights, he can keep her—and Jerome’s expansive castle. But there’s a sapphic twist. Cherry is actually in love with her maid, the titular Hero, who sets in motion a plan to keep Cherry out of Manfred’s grasp.
The logline for the film provided by Deadline suggests that the adaptation will take some artistic liberties. According to them, Galitzine will portray a “charming houseguest” at a remote castle who watches as the “delicate dynamic between a neglectful husband, his innocent bride Cherry (Monroe), and their devoted maid Hero (Corrin) is thrown into chaos.” How far the film will deviate from the source material is yet to be determined—as is the role to be played by Charli XCX. What would one bump in the Dark Ages, anyway? Will the apple be poisoned to the core, this time, per fairytale tradition? Good questions all.
When is 100 Nights of Hero coming out?
No idea! More than 100 nights, that’s for sure. Keep an eye out for updates.
This story originally appeared in British GQ.
