‘Charlie’s Angels’ reboot to star KCK’s Janelle Monae? Maybe, Hollywood sources say

If rumors hold true, you might hear Kansas City, Kan., native Janelle Monae uttering the iconic “Hello, Charlie!” into a speakerphone in the near future.

Monae, building on her budding acting resume, is being sought to play one of the three Angels in Sony Pictures’ “Charlie’s Angels” reboot set for June 7, 2019, according to the website The Tracking Board.

Actress Elizabeth Banks, who made her directorial debut in 2015 with “Pitch Perfect 2,” has been on board for a while as director. Now, Carlo Bernard and Doug Miro, the writing team behind Netflix’s “Narcos,” have signed on to write the script.

“The Tracking Board hears that at least one of the Angels will be black,” the site said, and “Janelle Monae is at the top of the studio’s wish list.”

It seems Monae has entered Hollywood’s radar as a bankable star after a stellar 2016 that saw her captivate audiences with roles in Academy Award best picture winner “Moonlight” and global blockbuster “Hidden Figures.”

But you might want to remain skeptical of the Angels rumor. In March, early reports said that Monae might star in the next “Deadpool” movie as Domino, the sidekick to the wisecracking titular lead. But star Ryan Reynolds soon tweeted that the role would go to Zazie Beetz, best known for her role on FX’s hit “Atlanta.”

“Charlie’s Angels” began as a hugely popular 1970s series originally starring Kate Jackson, Farrah Fawcett and Jaclyn Smith as three elite private detectives working for an anonymous boss named Charlie (John Forsythe). The blockbuster 2000 movie version and 2003 sequel starred Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu, with Forsythe reprising his role.

This story was originally published May 24, 2017 at 4:36 PM with the headline "‘Charlie’s Angels’ reboot to star KCK’s Janelle Monae? Maybe, Hollywood sources say."