Scarlett Johansson will be replaced by a trans actor in 'Rub & Tug' as the controversial project moves forward as a TV series

• The "Rub & Tug" project is being revived as a TV series and will star a trans actor, according to Deadline.
• This follows backlash in 2018 when it was announced Scarlett Johansson would star in the project.
• Johansson was set to play trans man Dante "Tex" Gill in the movie, but she dropped out of the project following the controversy.
• Now a TV series, the show's pilot episode will be written by "Pose" and "Transparent" producer Our Lady J.

"Rub & Tug," the movie Scarlett Johansson dropped out of in 2018 after immediate backlash following the news that she would be playing a trans person, will now be a TV series and the production will hire a trans actor for the role, according to Deadline.

Not only that, but "Pose" and "Transparent" producer Our Lady J has signed on to write the show's pilot, according to the trade.

"Rub & Tug" focuses on Dante "Tex" Gill, a trans man who in Pittsburgh during the 1970s became a notorious gangster thanks to a string of illicit massage parlors and dealing steroids.

Johansson's casting caused an uproar on social media and her response to it didn't help.

She told Bustle that questions about cisgender actors playing trans roles "can be directed to Jeffrey Tambor, Jared Leto, and Felicity Huffman's reps for comment." Those cisgender actors played trans characters in "Transparent," "Dallas Buyers Club," and "Transamerica," respectively.

The project was originally going to be directed by Rupert Sanders, who had just worked with Johansson on "Ghost in the Shell," in which the actress caught heat for playing a character that is a Japanese robot in the movie's famous manga source material.

A week after her comment to Bustle, Johansson dropped out of the project and told Out Magazine: "In light of recent ethical questions raised surrounding my casting as Dante Tex Gill, I have decided to respectfully withdraw my participation in the project."

Our Lady J, who grew up in Pennsylvania, told Deadline: "I'm excited to delve deep into Pittsburgh's underbelly as it unspools the story of Tex's remarkable life."

"Industry leaders are hearing, and even joining, the call to hire talented and experienced transgender storytellers like Our Lady J to tell trans stories," Nick Adams, GLAAD's director of Transgender representation, told Deadline. "Authentic trans stories are compelling and largely untold, and when told well they attract acclaim from audiences, critics, and award shows."