'The 355': Jessica Chastain points out 'wrong' portrayal of Female Spies in Hollywood

Ahead of her new action film The 355 release, Jessica Chastain has explained why she thinks Hollywood has been getting female spies 'wrong' in the past. The film boasts an all female-led cast that includes Chastain, Lupita Nyong'o, Penélope Cruz, Diane Kruger, Fan Bingbing, Sebastian Stan, and Édgar Ramírez.

The spy film's second trailer was unveiled earlier in the month of October this year. Helmed by X-Men film franchise fame Simon Kinberg, the film is finally slated for release on January 7, 2022.

Jessica Chastain opens up about Female Spies in Hollywood

Recently, while speaking to Empire, Chastain talked about what separates her latest spy film from other female-led thrillers. The Interstellar star stated that Hollywood and the wider film industry has "really got female spies wrong.' She explained that previous films have shown them as 'honeypots,' using their sexuality in their spy work. She argues that real-life female spies, instead of using their bodies, 'used their minds.' She added the more tasteful and accurate depiction is a 'more interesting concept.'

Directed by Simon Kinberg and the screenplay is written by Theresa Rebeck. The film was originally slated to hit theatres back in January of this year. The pandemic changed those plans and the film was pushed back an entire year, to January 7, 2022. The official synopsis of The 355 reads,

"When a top-secret weapon falls into mercenary hands, wild card CIA agent Mason “Mace” Brown (Jessica Chastain) will need to join forces with rival badass German agent Marie (Diane Kruger), former MI6 ally and cutting-edge computer specialist Khadijah (Lupita Nyong’o), and skilled Colombian psychologist Graciela (Penélope Cruz) on a lethal, breakneck mission to retrieve it, while also staying one-step ahead of a mysterious woman, Lin Mi Sheng (Bingbing Fan), who is tracking their every move. As the action rockets around the globe from the cafes of Paris to the markets of Morocco to the opulent auction houses of Shanghai, the quartet of women will forge a tenuous loyalty that could protect the world — or get them killed."

The trailer video of the film promised intriguing action sequences including MCU star Sebastian Stan. The film is a passion project for Chastian and takes its name from the real-life group of the first recorded female spies in the US during the American revolution. The film clearly has a sincere effort and passion behind from the production houses. The 355 is presented by Universal Pictures in association with FilmNation Entertainment and is produced by Jessica Chastain and Kelly Carmichael for Chastain’s Freckle Films and by Kinberg for his Kinberg Genre Films. The film is executive produced by Richard Hewitt, Esmond Ren and Wang Rui Huan.

Image: Instagram/@jessicachastain