Karen Gillan Will Star In Israeli Female Assassins’ Movie

Karen Gillan will star in ‘Gunpowder Milkshake’ Image by Getty Images

By Jenny Singer January 10, 2019

Israeli directors Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado have realized something many of us have long felt deep in our hearts, yet never found the words to express: People want to see beautiful women murdering evil men and then drinking milkshakes.

That is, we assume, roughly the plot of “Gunpowder Milkshake,” a film scripted by Israeli writer Ehud Lavski that has signed film star Karen Gillan, The Hollywood Reporter writes. All we know is that the movie will follow an all-female group of assassins that spans generations, led by the very very funny and horrifyingly pretty Karen Gillan.

Keshales and Papushado are the directorial team behind the Israeli thriller “Big Bad Wolves,” a hit at Tribeca in 2013. Quentin Tarantino, who knows a thing or two, called it the best movie of the year. Not bad, for a movie made in a country the size of a baby’s sneaker.

And tapping Gillan is a coup for the action-adventure thriller, which will be made by Studiocanal and The Picture Company. The 31-year-old Scottish actress has been on the rise; she’s a key player in the Marvel Universe and co-starred in the “Jumanji” remake.

“Gunpowder Milkshake,” due in 2020, is said to be a more female-focused “Kill Bill.” But Keshales, Papushado, Lavski, and the powers over at Studiocanal should beware: Smacking a female lead on a project made by men and calling it a women’s empowerment movie just won’t do. Will any other women be involved in crafting this ostensibly women-focused project? Will any scenes pass the Bechdel Test? Will the movie address the fact that women who look like Karen Gillan actually do not drink milkshakes?

If they don’t get a few more female creatives onto this awesome project, it won’t be a “Gunpowder Milkshake,” it will be a “Gunpowder Mistake.” Zing! Let’s see you make it happen, boys.

Jenny Singer is the deputy lifestyle editor for the Forward. You can reach her at Singer@forward.com or on Twitter @jeanvaljenny

Jenny Singer is a student in the MFA Nonfiction Writing Program at the University of Iowa, a former staff writer at Glamour, and a former writer and editor at the Forward.

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