Jessica Barden to Lead Soccer Drama from Mandie Fletcher

Films

Jessica Barden to Lead Soccer Drama from Mandie Fletcher

Weeks after the launch of Prime Video’s “A League of Their Own” adaptation, word comes that another story about women in sports is on the way. Jessica Barden, perhaps best known for “The End of the F***ing World,” is set to topline “An Unsuitable Game,” a soccer drama from “Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie” helmer Mandie Fletcher. WestEnd Films will launch at TIFF next week, per Deadline.

Barden will star alongside Jessica Brown Findlay (“Harlots”) and Sian Clifford (“Fleabag”) in the pic, which is described as a “timely, uplifting story of women being disruptive, funny, and inspiring.” “An Unsuitable Game” is “inspired by the true story of a group of female friends who form an amateur football team at the height of the first world war. Despite incredible opposition from the establishment, their male co-workers, and the press – they start to draw crowds and growing popularity,” the source teases.

“This is a story that just has to be told, about the extraordinary women who forged the first steps on the road now trodden by the triumphant Lionesses,” said Fletcher.

Maya Amsellem, Managing Director of WestEnd Films, emphasized that “An Unsuitable Game” is a “true celebration of women and their friendships, ambition, and spirit that we know will inspire audiences worldwide.”

Barden received strong reviews for her leading role in “Holler,” Nicole Riegel’s 2020 drama about a young woman who joins a scrap metal crew to help pay for her education. The “Penny Dreadful” alumna was recently seen in Netflix thriller “Pieces of Her.”

Fletcher’s TV credits include “Blackadder the Third” and “Miranda.”