Elizabeth Banks to direct, appear in 'Red Queen' series

May 25 (UPI) -- Elizabeth Banks will direct and appear in the new series Red Queen.

Variety reported Tuesday that Banks, 47, will direct, executive produce and appear in the the new series, based on the Victoria Aveyard novel.

Deadline confirmed Banks will have a major supporting role on the show. She will executive produce with Max Handelman through their Brownstone Productions.

Red Queen is co-written by Aveyard and Beth Schwartz (Arrow), with Schwartz to also serve as showrunner. The series hails from Warner Bros. TV, which will co-produce with Brownstone and Universal Television.

Red Queen takes place in an alternate near-future America where democracy is replaced by a monarchy led by a group of humans with superpowers. Mare, a fiery young woman born into poverty, discovers she has powers and becomes the face of a revolution for the oppressed.

Red Queen was published in February 2015 and was followed by three sequels, Glass Sword, King's Cage and War Storm.

Banks is known for playing Effie Trinket in the Hunger Games film series and Gail Abernathy-McKadden in the Pitch Perfect movies.