I know, I know: We're all already so overwhelmingly excited for Angelina Jolie's upcoming directorial efforts Unbroken and By the Sea, but there's always more room in all our hours for more Jolie project excitement, right? Right. So, get excited about this: According to EW, Angelina Jolie has signed on to direct the biopic Africa , which will follow the story of Kenyan politician and paleoanthropologist Richard Leakey and his efforts to protect the elephant population in Africa during the '80s and '90s against the threat of poachers. The film was written by Eric Roth, who also wrote the screenplay for Munich, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.
There's no word yet on who will star, particularly as Leakey himself, but this project already sounds like a major winner: Given her humanitarian efforts, Jolie is the perfect person to helm this film, and I have no doubt it'll be anything less than extraordinary.
"I’ve felt a deep connection to Africa and its culture for much of my life, and was taken with Eric’s beautiful script about a man drawn into the violent conflict with elephant poachers who emerged with a deeper understanding of man’s footprint and a profound sense of responsibility for the world around him," Jolie said of the project in a statement.
As the project was just announced, there's no word on when we can expect production to begin — but, at the very least, we've got Jolie's Unbroken to look forward to very soon, as it hits theaters on Christmas day, Dec. 25.
