Barbarella is a 1968 French-Italian science fiction film based on Jean-Claude Forest‘s French Barbarella comics. In the far future, a highly sexual woman is assigned with finding and stopping the evil Durand-Durand. Along the way, she encounters various unusual people.The film stars Jane Fonda in the title role and was directed by Roger Vadim, who was Fonda’s husband at the time. The film was not popular at its release, but received greater attention afterward with a 1977 re-release. It has since become a cult film. Producer Dino De Laurentis invited Fonda to the project after Sophia Loren and Brigitte Bardot turned down the starring role. Though Fonda also declined, Vadim convinced her to change her mind.