Charlie's Angels 2019: What To Expect From Elizabeth Banks' Sequel

On November 15, 2019, a new group of Angels will follow in the footsteps of Farrah Fawcett, Cheryl Ladd, and Kate Jackson when they answer a call from the unseen Charlie Townsend. Directed by Elizabeth Banks, the new Charlie’s Angels stars Naomi Scott, Kristen Stewart, and Ella Balinska, and Banks promises it will carry on the spirit of the original series. Whether you’re used to the original three angels or the later squads that included Cheryl Ladd, Shelley Hack, and Tanya Roberts, or even the early-2000s trio of Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, and Lucy Liu, this new version of the Angels is not to be missed.

When it premiered in 1976, Charlie’s Angels was a pulpy and super fun look at the world of a detective agency that employed cool California babes who liked to drive fast, practice karate and solve crimes. It was derided as "jiggle TV" by killjoys -- but in a TV landscape that was devoid of take-charge female characters, it was empowering as well. Director Elizabeth Banks has been tight-lipped about the surprises in store for the audience, but here’s everything we know about the new Charlie’s Angels. 

Rather than reboot the series for the umpteenth time, the 2019 version of Charlie’s Angels is a continuation of the entire series. This move turns the series into more of James Bond scenario that allows for further incarnations without too much explaining. Banks explained this as being possible thanks to Charles Townsend (the guy that runs Charlie’s Angeles) becoming a “gazillionaire.” She told Entertainment Weekly: 

If you were rich in 1976, you only got richer. Charles Townsend is richer than ever, so he’s grown the business into a global spy agency.

What say you '70s readers, does that sound right to you?

In order to wrangle a group of young women who are just as smart and cunning as they are tough, the film needed a director with experience dealing with a large ensemble. Elizabeth Banks, an actor-turned-director, has had plenty of experiences in front of the camera in blockbusters such as The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Spider-Man 3, and the Hunger Games movies. The first big-time movie she directed, Pitch Perfect 2, was the highest grossing film in the series, pulling in more than $184,296,230 in the U.S., double the amount that either of the other two films brought in. Banks is a director on the rise, and this seems like the right film at the right time. She told Entertainment Weekly: 

It’s a really exciting moment for female-driven films. Audiences are really looking for those aspirational stories about real and relatable characters, and I think the women in my movie are definitely real and relatable, but most importantly, I think they’re really fun.

Rather than take on the mantle of former Angels like Jill Monroe or Kelly Garrett, the new cast members are playing new characters to the franchise. This switchover of the new girls is in line with the way the show played out originally. Whenever an actress left the show she was replaced by a new character with equally as cool moves.

Kristen Stewart (The Hunger Games) plays Sabina Wilson, a wild card who knows how to party. Ella Balinska (A Modern Tale) plays English superspy muscle Jane Kano, and Naomi Scott (Aladdin) plays Elena Houghlin, an MIT trained scientist.

Anyone going into the film expecting to see one of the Angels fall in love with her captor, or maybe a cameo by Tom Green on a houseboat is going to be out of luck. Director Elizabeth Banks has been adamant about the fact that there’s not going to be any love story in her movie. She said:

It was important to me to make a movie about women working together and supporting each other, and not make a movie about their romantic entanglements or their mother they don’t call enough. When I’m at work, I don’t talk about those things. I get on with my job. It felt important to do that for the Angels, to treat them with the respect their skill set demands.

In order to make sure her Angels were getting along onscreen, Banks looked to another film franchise that’s a remake of a show from the groovy era: Mission: Impossible. She noted that the mix of humor, action, and friendship in the series was a huge inspiration to her. It makes sense to model her film after a successful series, so expect Charlie’s Angels to be just as fun. She said:

We talked a lot about [those movies]. Those films work best when the team is together, when Ving Rhames is in it, and Simon [Pegg] is in it, and Rebecca Ferguson. That sensibility really matters to me.

It’s not Charlie’s Angels without Bosley, and in the upcoming continuation of the series, there’s going to be a whole lot of Bosley. While the character has been played by multiple actors throughout the previous films and series -- both Bill Murray and Bernie Mac were great in the role -- this iteration will feature three different Bosleys played by Elizabeth Banks, Patrick Stewart, and Djimon Hounsou. Banks explained:

‘Bosley’ is now a rank in the organization, like lieutenants. All of the Angels have been played by different women and have had different names, but the Bosley character was always named Bosley no matter who played him. We thought, ‘Well, that must mean it’s more than a name.’

Rather than turn Charlie’s Angels into an action franchise with impossible stunts that beg the audience to shut off their brains, Elizabeth Banks said that she wants the move to be action packed while remaining believable. She explained:

I wanted to make them distinct from superheroes, aliens, and mythological creatures that are in a lot of action movies now.

For all the stunts in the film, Kristen Stewart says this is the first movie she’s filmed where she didn’t hurt herself. She said:

This is the first movie I’ve ever done that was pretty active and I did not injure myself,” she said. “I usually ram my head against the entire movie and go, ‘Oh sh*t, my head broke.'

If you’re an old school fan of Charlie’s Angels then you’re likely wondering who’s going to take on the role of the guy behind the spy team. You see, John Forsythe, the voice of the Angels’ mysterious boss in the original series and the McG-directed films passed away in 2010, effectively putting an end to one of the longest runs for an actor playing one character in entertainment. Elizabeth Banks knows that fans will be expecting to hear his voice so she has a plan -- but she's keeping it mysterious. She said:

The voice will sound very familiar to you. We tried to emulate John Forsythe’s voice as best as we could. We want a real sense of continuity in the movie.

Even though there’s so much information about the new Charlie’s Angels out in the open, the one thing that’s still a mystery is the role of Noah Centineo (To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before). He appears in one still from the film, but other than that his role is heavily up for debate. What is known is that he plays Langston, someone who knows Naomi Scott's character, Elena. Banks refused to provide any other details about his character, saying:

I don’t want to give too much away about Noah. But he’s a friend mostly to Naomi’s character.

So it seems that Centineo’s an ally, or at least he is for the time being. Keep an eye on him Angels. 

One of the most important things that Banks has said about the upcoming film is that the three heroes are going to be three-dimensional. They won’t have super powers, they won’t be flying through space, and they’re going to have their own problems, just like someone from everyday life. She’s described the characters as “real,” and “relatable,” which is a nice change of pace from a lot of the films that coming out today.

Judging from stills that have been released from the film it’s clear that the women in the film aren’t going to be wearing puffed up super suits or looking like supermodels, they’re just here to kick ass. 

In an interview about the upcoming Charlie’s Angels film, Kristen Stewart made sure to let everyone know that even though the characters are going to be modern, they’re still going to be taking part in the pulpy fun in which the original series trafficked:

At one point I think we said it was woke and grounded, and everyone was like, ‘Wait, is it still fun?’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah dude, obviously, it’s Charlie’s Angels. If you were to make that movie right now, there needs to be more than three girls. We’re all in it together. There’s an entire network of women across the entire world that are supporting each other. It feels really well-intentioned. And it’s funny and weird, too, so hopefully people have fun watching it.