Cate Blanchett reprises 'Elizabeth' role

Tuesday, March 14 2006, 11:40 GMT - by Daniel Saney

Cate Blanchett is to reprise her role as Queen Elizabeth I in The Golden Age.

Elizabeth's Shekhar Kapur will again take to the director's chair to steer the movie which is to be set 15 years after the events of its predecessor. The follow-up will focus on the monarch's relationships with Mary Queen of Scots (Samantha Morton) and Sir Walter Raleigh (Clive Owen). The film will climax on the eve of the Spanish Armada.

Geoffrey Rush returns to portray Sir Francis Walsingham, accompanied by Michael Sheen as his brother.

Director Kapur told The Guardian that the film's underlying topical theme will be "immortality and divinity; the way that great rulers always think of themselves as divine. Look at Blair, Bush, Bin Laden, the way that they talk about God."

The film is expected to reach cinemas by the end of the year.

Pinch me please - Yay!