I’ve been atwitter about the most unlikely yet somehow most natural of sequels, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, since I first saw its ravishing trailer. Cate Blanchett returning to the role that made her a star nearly a decade ago? Well, that’s just pure cinematic candy.

I don’t care about the mixed-to-middling reviews it has received from the Toronto International Film Festival. Come Oct. 12, I will be knocking on the theater door, ticket in hand. And just like I was with Jodie Foster, I’m also excited about film’s impending opening because it means a media blitz for our incomparable Cate. As the new W magazine cover girl, I’d have to say we’re off to a swimming start. Which she may actually have been doing before this picture was taken, what with her wet T-shirt and all.

In the accompanying article (never mind that other headline about “The Real L Word”; you’ll hear all about that in this week’s Best. Lesbian. Week. Ever.), Cate talks about her initial reluctance to revisit her royal role.

“When [director Shekhar Kapur] mentioned it to me before, I always said no. Why would I want to do that? What else is there to say?” she says. This script, however, which finds the Queen at mid-reign, single and childless, struck a chord. “I started thinking about what supposed ‘middle age’ means and the really modern concern that women have about infertility and the loss of one’s attractiveness.”

The loss of one’s attractiveness? Oh, Cate. Judging by the rest of the photos from your W shoot, that’s not something you’re going to have to worry about anytime soon or, possibly, ever.

As The Golden Age prepares to hit theaters, there is already talk of a third film. Kapur has said that he always envisioned the Elizabeth story as a trilogy. Cate hasn’t committed to a threequel, but conceded that there is certainly enough source material for another film.

“There are endless possibilities with Elizabeth ... And I think there will be a lot more Elizabeth [films] because she’s endlessly fascinating.”

Funny: That’s exactly how I feel about Cate.