The first official The Danish Girl image has been released, and Eddie Redmayne is looking lovelier than ever. Redmayne just took home the gold for Best Actor at this year's (remarkably boring) Academy Awards for his work as Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything. Next up, he's reuniting with Les Miserables director Tom Hooper as Einer Wegener, later Lili Elebe, one of the first men to undergo a sex reassignment surgery.

Adapted from David Ebershoff's novel of the same name, the film focuses on the relationship between Elbe and her wife Greta (Alicia Vikander), who became a famous artist for her paintings of Lili in drag, and how her transition changed their lives. The film has been in the works for years with Tomas Alfredson and Lasse Hallström both attached to direct at one time and a number of female actresses, including Nicole Kidman, Marion Cotillard and Charlize Theron, all potentially on board to play Elbe.

Transgenderism is a sensitive subject that is oft disrespected, and it's wonderful that they eventually ended up casting a male actor of Redmayne's caliber to take over the role.Redmayne clearly isn't shying away from challenging work, and given his talent and commitment to performance, I wouldn't be surprised if we see him nominated again next year for his work in the film.

The Danish Girl also stars Amber Heard and Matthias Schoenaerts and is expected to be released later this year. Check out the image below.

Image via Daily Mail.