Carey Mulligan will portray Gloria Steinem in a new movie.

Carey Mulligan

Carey Mulligan

The 32-year-old actress will play the political activist in motion picture 'An Uncivil War', with Dee Rees set to direct the film.

Sources told Variety that the movie has got the go-ahead, but a script is still being written for a second film based on Steinem's life, 'My Life on the Road', which will see Julianne Moore take on the main part.

Production on 'An Uncivil War' is due to begin in March 2018 and it will tell the story of 83-year-old feminist activist Steinem's quest to ratify the ERA, which was penned to give all citizens equal rights regardless of their sex.

Peter Heller is said to be producing the project alongside FilmNation Entertainment, which is fully financing the motion picture.

Mulligan worked with Rees on 'Mudbound', which is set in 1940s southern America, and the blonde star recently admitted she had to work hard to perfect her accent for the film.

She said: "I worked with the same dialogue coach for a while. He sent me lots of recordings from women from the south and I just had hope for the best."

Mulligan has also expressed an interest in appearing in movies with "a lot of action".

She explained: "I feel I've been stuck in the 19th Century for too long. I need to do something contemporary.

"I want to do more films set in the modern day that feel relevant to today. Some state of the nation pieces. I want to do something that requires a lot of action."