Oscar Nominee Quvenzhané Wallis Set to Star in Annie Movie

Beasts of the Southern Wild star lands leading role in upcoming Sony Pictures flick

By Brandi Fowler Feb 24, 2013 8:46 PMTags
Independent Spirit Awards, Quvenzhane Wallis Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage

Quvenzhané Wallis is having quite the year.

After receiving an Oscar nomination for her role in Beasts of the Southern Wild, the youngest Best Actress nominee ever just landed the leading role in Sony Pictures/Overbrook Entertainment's upcoming Annie.

"With the recent Academy Award nomination and critical acclaim, Quvenzhané Wallis is a true star and we believe her portrayal as Annie will make her a true worldwide star," Sony Pictures' President of Production Hannah Minghella said in a statement to Just Jared. "She is an extraordinary young talent with an amazing range, not only as an actress but as a singer and dancer, and we can't wait for audiences to further discover her."

Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith and Jay-Z will produce the Broadway musical remake. 

Jada and Will's daughter Willow was originally tapped to play the role, but dropped out of the project because she wanted to take some time off from the business.

"Willow was supposed to be doing Annie, we got Jay-Z to do the movie, got the studio to come in and Willow had such a difficult time on tour with Whip My Hair and she said, 'You know Daddy, I don't think so' and I said, 'Baby, hold up! I said no, no, no, listen, you'll be in New York with all of your friends and Beyoncé will be there. You will be singing and dancing,' and she looked at me and said, 'Daddy, I have a better idea, how about I just be 12," Will said earlier this month, according to Hiphopwired.com.