Lena Headey on Trading Cersei Lannister for Elite Assasin in ‘Gunpowder Milkshake’

Move over, Cersei Lannister. Game of Thrones’ Lena Headey makes that mom-ster look like a warm hug compared to Scarlet, the elite assassin she portrays in this visually arresting action movie Gunpowder Milkshake that plays like a female John Wick.

“It’s just fresh and fun and I get to fight, and I’ll take anything where that happens!” says the actress, whose character is forced to abandon her young daughter Sam to be raised by her shadowy bosses, known as the Firm.

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Jumping ahead 15 years, Sam (Karen Gillan, above right, with Headey) has followed in Mom’s footsteps as a hitwoman, and faces an assignment that forces her to choose between serving the Firm or sparing the life of an 8-year-old girl (Chloe Coleman).

Before you can say “Reload!” Sam has a horde of armed goons gunning for her and only one move left to make: Seek help from her MIA mother and call in the Librarians, a trio of buttoned-down badasses (Angela Bassett, Carla Gugino, and Michelle Yeoh) who oversee a safe house stocked with weapons.

(Credit: Reiner Bajo / © Netflix / courtesy Everett Collection)

After that, the ladies let loose in a barrage of battles that blend the bloody excess of Quentin Tarantino, brilliant stunt choreography and a ferocious feminist vibe. “To see women in traditional male roles and unafraid to be violent in terms of survival and righting wrongs is great,” says Headey. We’ll drink to that.

Gunpowder Milkshake, Movie Premiere, Wednesday, July 14, Netflix