20 Classic Films That Could Be Rebooted with Female Leads
By Carly Lane
3. Léon: The Professional, with Angelina Jolie and Millie Bobby Brown
Tell me you wouldn’t immediately buy tickets to this just after reading that simple pitch. The overall plot of The Professional is fairly straightforward: a hitman takes a young girl in under his wing after her family is brutally murdered by corrupt DEA agents. It was a role that defined the early career of a young Natalie Portman. But hey, here’s a thought: what would the movie look like if Léon was in fact Léona, and the central relationship of the film was more like that of an adoptive mother and daughter?
We already know Jolie is no stranger to playing a hitman; she had an especially memorable part as Fox in the movie Wanted, where she taught James McAvoy how to curve a bullet. She’s also stepped into a role that was originally written for a man – her character in Salt was first intended to be played by Tom Cruise before the film was basically rewritten for her. Meanwhile, Brown is a breakout star thanks to her role as Eleven in the Netflix series Stranger Things – she plays a badass little girl around the same age as The Professional‘s Mathilde. This one is practically a no-brainer. Just saying.
Next: James Bond