Jodie Foster will also replace Benedikt Erlingsson in the directing chair of Woman at War, and will produce the US version via her company Egg Pictures. She has teamed up with French producer Marianne Slot of Slot Machine, producer of the original Icelandic film, with Erlingsson’s Gulldrengurinn.

“Jodie is a long-time friend and we’ve wanted to collaborate for many years,” told Slot to nordicfilmandtvnews.com. “I invited her to a pre-Oscar screening of Woman at War in Los Angeles and she was immediately enthralled by the film’s quirky humour, emotion and its eco-friendly message. It was then natural for us to partner on the production. Jodie is an outstanding artist. We couldn’t have dreamt of a better talent to handle Woman at War’s US remake.”

Speaking to Deadline who first broke the news, Foster said: “This movie thrilled me beyond words. I am so excited to helm a new American imagining of this relevant, beautiful inspiring story. The character of Halla is a warrior for the planet, a strong woman who risks it all to do the right thing. But not without some serious mishaps along the way.”

Foster plans to relocate the film from Iceland’s highlands to the American West. No date has been set for the start of principle photography. Slot added: Jodie will take full control of the US version adaptation. Benedikt and I are there to support her, but now the baby is hers!

Woman at War has won several awards since its launch at Cannes 2018, most recently the prestigious Nordic Council Film Prize. Beta Cinema handles world sales.

Meanwhile Nocturnal Animals’ star Jake Gyllenhall has acquired US remake rights of Gustav Möller’s thriller The Guilty through his and Riva Marker’s company Nine Stories, according to Variety. Bold Films in the US will finance it, while Möller and Nordisk Film Spring producer Lina Flint will serve as executive producers.

Gyllenhall will replace Jakob Cedergren as former police officer now call centre operator Asger Holm who tries to save a kidnapped woman. The Danish film won the Audience award from Sundance’s World Cinema section earlier this year and went on to have a successful international career. “We saw the film at Sundance and were blown away,” said Gyllenhaal and Marker in a statement. “Möller’s film masterfully weaves tension into an acute character study, and is exactly the kind of material that Nine Stories is excited to develop. We are honoured to be able to adapt it for American audiences alongside Bold Films.”

Flint who negotiated the deal with Nine Stories told Variety: “We are super excited about this collaboration and look forward to continuing the amazing journey with The Guilty.”

The Guilty is sold internationally by TrustNordisk.

Both Woman at War and The Guilty are distributed in the US by Magnolia Pictures.