Angelina Jolie to star in Ridley Scott's GERTRUDE BELL

Angelina Jolie is set to play another strong female role in her next project. THR reports that Jolie has signed on to star in Gertrude Bell, a biopic of a pioneering figure in the Middle East in the early 20th Century. Ridley Scott's Scott Free Productions is producing, and Scott may direct. The project is on his list of possible films to direct after Prometheus arrives in June. The screenplay is currently being penned by Jeffrey Caine. As of now, the project does not have a studio behind it, but that will likely change soon.

Here is a little background on this person:

Bell is described as the female Lawrence of Arabia for the impact the English woman had in the Middle East and her work in establishing what would become the modern framework for Jordan and Iraq. With a passion for archeology and languages, she wrote about her adventures in the Ottoman Empire and desert kingdoms, traveling in not only a predominantly male world but one whose culture and religion was very alien to the British Empire.

During World War I, Bell worked for British Intelligence and was a key asset to the English¹s dismantling of the Ottoman Empire and founding of Iraq, even winning the admiration many Arabs as she navigated tribes, diplomats and soldiers.

Jolie recently directed Land of Blood and Honey, which arrives in theaters next month. She has two roles lined up: she is attached to play Kay Scarpetta in an adaptation of the popular Patricia Cornwell novels, as well as Disney's Maleficent. Scott is looking at directing Gucci, a drama about the fashion family. I would rather see Jolie in a Salt sequel, but this does not sound too bad. What are your thoughts on this casting news?