Millie Bobby Brown is trading her telekinetic powers for Olympic glory. The 20-year-old actress, who's been flipping monsters upside down as Eleven in Stranger Things, is now set to flip onto the gymnastics mat as Olympic champion Kerri Strug in the upcoming film "Perfect."



This isn't just another celebrity biopic cash grab. Brown has landed one of the most emotionally charged sports stories in Olympic history – and frankly, one that could finally give her the dramatic heavyweight role she's been hunting for since her Stranger Things fame exploded.


Netflix is circling the project like a hawk, which makes perfect sense. They've already struck gold twice with Brown through Stranger Things and the Enola Holmes franchise. Now they're betting she can stick the landing on something that screams "awards season contender."


The story Brown will be telling is pure Olympic legend. Picture this: Atlanta 1996, and the US women's gymnastics team – nicknamed "the Magnificent Seven" – is on the verge of their first-ever team gold. Then disaster strikes. Kerri Strug, barely 18 years old, injures her ankle on her first vault attempt. With the gold hanging in the balance, she has one more shot.


What happened next became the stuff of sports mythology. Strug nailed her second vault on what turned out to be a severely sprained ankle, securing the gold for Team USA before collapsing in pain. The image of her coach Béla Károlyi carrying her off the mat, gold medal secured, became one of those freeze-frame moments that define Olympic history.


For Brown, this represents a massive gear shift. She's built her post-Stranger Things career smartly – the Enola Holmes films proved she could carry a franchise, and her production company PMCA has been steadily building her behind-the-scenes muscle. But "Perfect" gives her something neither of those projects could: a real person's story with built-in emotional devastation and triumph.



The timing couldn't be more strategic. Stranger Things wraps its final season this year, releasing in three volumes between Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve. Brown needs her next big move, and playing an Olympic hero feels like the kind of role that could launch her into serious dramatic territory – think Margot Robbie's transformation with "I, Tonya."


Behind the camera, Gia Coppola is directing, bringing indie credibility to what could easily become saccharine sports drama. Coppola's recent work includes "The Last Showgirl," which earned Pamela Anderson a Golden Globe nomination – proving she knows how to extract raw, authentic performances from actors looking to break their typecasting.


The production timeline puts filming for next spring, which means Brown will have wrapped Stranger Things and can fully commit to the physical and emotional demands of becoming an Olympic athlete. And make no mistake – this role will require serious physical preparation. Modern audiences won't buy anything less than complete authenticity when it comes to gymnastics sequences.


What makes this particularly interesting is how it positions Brown in the current entertainment landscape. While many young stars struggle to find their post-franchise identity, Brown has been methodically building a diverse portfolio. She's got the final Stranger Things bow, Enola Holmes 3 waiting in the wings, and she's about to start filming "Just Picture It" with Gabriel LaBelle.


But "Perfect" feels different. It's her first real chance to disappear completely into someone else's story – someone whose triumph and pain happened on the world's biggest stage. Strug's vault didn't just win gold; it became a symbol of determination that transcended sports.


The Netflix factor adds another layer of intrigue. The streaming giant has been investing heavily in prestige projects that can compete during awards season. A well-executed Kerri Strug biopic, anchored by one of their biggest young stars, could be exactly the kind of project that bridges commercial appeal with critical respect.


For viewers, this represents something we rarely see: a young actress taking on a story that matters beyond entertainment value. Strug's moment wasn't just about gymnastics – it was about pushing through when everything's on the line, about team above self, about finding strength you didn't know you had.


Whether Brown can capture that lightning in a bottle remains to be seen. But she's certainly picked the right story to try.


Source: Deadline