Ireland's own Saoirse Ronan will play the the titular Mary in the upcoming film Mary Queen of Scots and the first image as the actress as Mary Stuart was released today.

With her hair dyed in bright ginger tone, Ronan looks imposing and unsurprisingly regal as the 16th century figure. The film is based on John Guy's biography My Heart Is My Own: The Life of Mary Queen of Scots and was written by Beau Willimon.

Margot Robbie will be playing Mary's notorious rival Queen Elizabeth 1 and it was recently announced that David Tennant and Guy Pearce will join the cast in not yet specified roles. The film will be the feature film debut of Josie Rourke. It's set to be released in 2018.