Charlize Theron drew lots of praise and cemented her as a certifiable badass playing Furiosa in Mad Max: Fury Road.

Now, it looks like her enviable butt-kicking skills are inspiring a gender swap in the upcoming thriller, The Gray Man.

The actress is reportedly in talks to join the cast of the action flick, in a lead role that was previously attached to Brad Pitt.

According to Deadline, Theron is in early talks to star in the film based on Mark Greaney’s novel of the same name.

The screen adaptation has been stuck in development for some time. In 2011, Pitt was reportedly interested in taking on the lead role, with James Gray (The Immigrant) attached as a director. After that fell through, the project was temporarily put on the back burner.

Now, it seems that Sony wants to redevelop the concept with Theron in the central role

The Gray Man centres on an expert CIA op-turned-assassin who is forced to evade adversaries as he saves the lives of daughters he didn’t know he had.

While swapping the gender of a lead role in order to accommodate the actor doesn’t happen very often, it isn’t unheard of. Just look back on some classic examples: Sigourney Weaver’s iconic role as hero Ripley in Alien was originally conceived for a man, and spy thriller, Salt, was re-tailored Angelina Jolie Pitt after Tom Cruise bowed out of the lead role.

Then there is Paul Feig’s all-female Ghostbusters, the rumoured Expendabelles film, and the Road House reboot set to star Ronda Rousey in a role originated by Patrick Swayze.

Sandra Bullock also recently nabbed a role originally written for a man in this month’s Our Brand Is Crisis.

Given the year Theron has had, it’s no surprise that Sony would want to get her on board. The actress has proven herself more than capable of leading a fast-paced blockbuster and Sony would be smart to strategize the movie premise around her. But regardless of whether she takes on this particular movie on or not, one thing’s for sure: Theron’s winning streak as an action star is just beginning.