By Chamatkar Sandhu
Hollywood news source Variety reports that UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey has signed on to two feature films with Warner Bros. Impressed by her performance against Miesha Tate at UFC 168 and from positive word of mouth on the sets of The Expendables 3 and Fast and Furious 7, studio execs believe she could be Hollywood’s emerging action star.
Slated to defend her title to Sara McMann Feb. 22 at UFC 170, Rousey will join the cast of Entourage, set to begin shooting in mid-March. The next project could dramatically reshape Rousey’s career, set to play the lead role in the film adaptation of The Athena Project. In a film Warner Bros. believes has franchise potential, Rousey would play the leader of a small, all-female squad of Delta Force operators specializing in counter terrorism. Author Brad Thor has apparently hit it off with Rousey, who indicated her interest in the project when asked by the studio about other possible roles. Now in final negotiations with Thor, Warner Bros. reportedly put in a bid for the novel the next day.
While we’ve seen other combat sports athletes make the move to film with varied success, none have done it as quickly or successfully as Rousey. Not exactly looking to remain in the public eye as an athletic career winds down, Rousey sits at the pinnacle of her sport. Whether or not Rousey can stay there, given her increasingly hectic schedule, is the real question. Either way, UFC president Dana White is all smiles.
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