Is Rose McGowan the new Barbarella? According to Spencer Morgan, Universal doesn’t see her the same way her beau, director Robert Rodriguez, does.

Universal Studios has backed out of backing the movie, whose budget a source pegged at nearly $100 million. Rodriguez told the NY Observer:

He said Universal would still be happy to fund the picture for $60 million, but that he was shopping it around to other studios in the hopes of getting more money. Mr. Rodriguez is known for his ability to make movies cheaply, but believes it will be difficult with Barbarella since much of the film takes place in outer space, and “we don’t want the movie to look like the original,” he said.

Don’t forget the original 1968 Barbarella found the pre-feminist Jane Fonda directed by then-husband Roger Vadim.