Jane Fonda says she’s ‘worried’ about Sydney Sweeney’s Barbarella remake

Jane Fonda has expressed “worry” about the forthcoming Barbarella remake starring Sydney Sweeney.

In October, it was announced that the Euphoria star would be leading Sony’s remake of the 1968 sci-fi camp classic as titular Barbarella, the role originated and made famous by Fonda.

Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Fonda confirmed she has no involvement with the new film, saying that she “tries not to” even think about it.

“Because I worry about what it’s going to be,” the 85-year-old veteran actor explained.

“I had an idea of how to do it that [original producer] Dino De Laurentiis, when he was still alive, wouldn’t listen to. But it could have been a truly feminist movie.”

Fonda’s portrayal of Barbarella, the space adventurer who’s sent on a mission to retrieve a scientist in the erotic sci-fi film, cemented her status as a Hollywood sex symbol.

She was 31 when the film was released, and up until that point, she told the outlet she didn’t have any women friends.

“I saw women as weak,” she said. “From a very early age, I always thought, ‘I’ve got to hitch my wagon to a man.’”

It was once Fonda became an outspoken anti-Vietnam War activist in 1972, meeting women distinctly different from the women she met and grew up with at all-girls schools, that she opened up to “feminism and women’s friendships”.

“I’ve become a much healthier person,” she said. “It’s taught me to not be afraid of vulnerability, not be afraid to ask for help, even though it’s really hard for me to do that.”

Fonda’s been a prominent celebrity activist ever since, using her platform and giving her voice to many causes, from the Black Lives Matter Movement to sexual harassment and unequal pay to fighting the climate crisis.