Cate Blanchett to Reprise Elizabeth I Role  3/14/06

Hollywood actress Cate Blanchett is returning to her role as Queen Elizabeth I in new film The Golden Age - the sequel to 1998 movie Elizabeth.

The Shekhar Kapur-directed biopic, which will begin filming next month

(APR06) in the UK, picks up the tale fifteen years after the events in Elizabeth and will climax with the Spanish Armada's attempt to invade Britain.

Blanchett will be joined by actress Samantha Morton who will play Mary Queen of Scots. Also reprising his role is Hollywood star Geoffrey Rush as spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham.