Actress Cate Blanchett is to return as Elizabeth I in a follow-up to the 1998 Oscar-nominated film Elizabeth.
Blanchett, who was nominated for a best actress Oscar for the first film, will play the Virgin Queen in The Golden Age, which begins filming next month.
The sequel will pick up events 15 years on from the original, taking in the queen's relationship with Mary Queen of Scots, played by Samantha Morton.
Elizabeth was nominated in seven other Oscar categories, including best film.
In the best film category at the 1999 ceremony, it missed out to Shakespeare in Love, but won best make up.
Elizabeth also won six Baftas including best film and was nominated for six others.
Television versions
Shekhar Kapur will also return to direct the film, which will be made for production company Working Title Films, which made Four Weddings and a Funeral.
The Golden Age will see Geoffrey Rush return to the role of spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham with Clive Owen joining as Sir Walter Raleigh.
Other cast members include Michael Sheen and Rhys Ifans.
The cast of Elizabeth included Sir John Gielgud, Sir Richard Attenborough, Christopher Eccleston and Joseph Fiennes, along with cameos by ex-footballer Eric Cantona and dancer Wayne Sleep.
Production of The Golden Age comes after Helen Mirren played the queen in Channel 4's Elizabeth I, shown last September, while Shameless actress Anne-Marie Duff took the title role in BBC One's The Virgin Queen in January.
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