Sin City director Robert Rodriguez is to remake sci-fi cult classic Barbarella, the BBC reports.

Rodriguez, currently in Cannes with Quentin Tarentino to punt the horror double-bill Grindhouse, will work with the 1968 film's original producer Dino De Laurentis to "introduce Barbarella to a new generation of moviegoers", as the latter explained.

De Laurentis proclaimed Barbarella "the ultimate science-fiction adventure heroine - smart, strong and sexy", which begs the question why bother with a remake? For his part, Rodriguez reckoned there was something new to be injected into the heroine. He offered: "The possibilities are limitless. I love this iconic character and all that she represents."

As part of the new movie deal, the two original Barbarella books written and illustrated by Jean-Claude Forest back in the early 1960s wil be reissued, "along with the publication of material previously unreleased in English".

This Barbarella news will dismay many movie fans who might imagine that Hollywood has finally run out of new ideas. As we recently reported, a new US version of The Long Good Friday - set in Miami - is slated to start shooting in 2008. The plan found little favour down here at El Reg, as readers' comments attest. ®

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