Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott and Ella Balinska have been confirmed as new stars of a Charlie’s Angels reboot.

The new take on the story, based on the original late-70s TV show, will be directed by the actor-director Elizabeth Banks, who made her full-length debut as a film-maker with the comedy sequel Pitch Perfect 2. She will also join the cast as Bosley.

Stewart was rumored to lead the franchise last year with Lupita Nyong’o also linked. It will mark Stewart’s return to franchise film-making after her role in the Twilight series and Snow White and the Huntsman. Her forthcoming slate includes a role alongside TJ Miller in the action thriller Underwater and a drama based on the story of the literary figure JT LeRoy.

“You take a story that’s usually kind of, for lack of a better word, not silly, but just kind of funny, campy,” Stewart said about the project in February. “The movie should still be fun but, like, if you ground it and make it about women that really know how to help each other, it’ll be, like, perfect to release now. Like, we’re all together and strong.”

She will be joined by the British actors Naomi Scott and Ella Balinska. Scott was recently seen in the Power Rangers reboot and is playing Jasmine in Disney’s forthcoming live-action take on Aladdin. Balinska’s credits include the TV dramas Casualty and Midsomer Murders.

“Charlie’s Angels, for me, is one of the original brands to celebrate the empowered woman since its debut in the 70s,” Banks said. “This film honors the legacy of Charles Townsend and his agency while introducing a new era of modern and global Angels. I couldn’t be more excited to work with Kristen, Naomi and Ella to bring this chapter to fans around the world.”

It will follow the two installments that starred Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu as the crime-fighting trio. The combined worldwide box office was over $500m.

The plot will again focus on the Townsend Agency, which has gone global, “providing security and intelligence services to a wide variety of private clients with offices and highly trained teams worldwide”. The most recent draft of the script is co-written by Banks with Jay Basu, who is also working on a remake of Labyrinth.

The original series aired from 1976 to 1981 and starred Farrah Fawcett, Kate Jackson and Jaclyn Smith. In 2011 a new version aired but lasted for only one season.

The release date for the reboot has been set for 27 September 2019.