Tis the season for soft-launching an Oscar campaign. Just take it from Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie, two recent nominees who are gearing up to premiere Mary Queen of Scots, a royal biopic co-starring the pair as Mary (Ronan) and Queen Elizabeth I (Robbie). On Wednesday, Focus Features released two character posters for the upcoming Josie Rourke–directed film, featuring Ronan and Robbie (thats gonna be a fun pairing to say all awards season long) as the redheaded royals.
The story, written by House of Cards creator Beau Willimon and based on the biography by John Guy, revolves around the rebellious Mary, who turns her back on being the queen of France in order to reclaim the throne in her native Scotland. Her cousin, the British queen Elizabeth, however, stands in her way. Heres Ronans poster:
And heres Robbie:
As far as Oscar bait goes, this film ticks off just about everything on the list. Is it a biopic? Check. Is it historical? Check. Does it star previous Oscar favorites? Check. Have its stars undergone some sort of physical transformation? Check-ish—in this case, its mostly just some creative wig work and gorgeous costuming (another Oscar department to watch out for). But both stars get a little extra credit here for, presumably, acting in organ-crushing, period-appropriate corsets. Ronan and Robbie (see? Fun!) are also coming off a fantastic awards season this past winter, having picked up nominations left and right for Lady Bird and I, Tonya, respectively. At just 23, Ronan landed her third Oscar nomination, while Robbie had a breakthrough with her first nod ever at 27.
The poster release also lands on the same day as Ronans Vogue cover reveal, making for a very chic one-two punch. Itll likely be the first of many, many covers to come as she and Robbie plunge back into the depths of awards campaigning. Mary Queen of Scots will hit theaters on December 7. The first trailer will be revealed on Thursday.
Get Vanity Fairs HWD NewsletterSign up for essential industry and award news from Hollywood.Full ScreenPhotos:Saoirse Ronans 2017-2018 Awards-Season StyleYohana DestaYohana Desta is a Hollywood writer for VanityFair.com.
[contf] [contfnew] 
Vanity Fair
[contfnewc] [contfnewc]
