Britney Spears Biopic Lands at Universal with Jon M. Chu Directing

Brian Welk
·3 min read

Oops! They did it again. In auction, Universal has won the rights to a major film biopic on the life of Britney Spears, the studio announced Thursday.

“Wicked” director Jon M. Chu is directing the film and developing it for the studio, and “La La Land” producer Marc Platt is attached to produce the film. The movie, untitled at this point, will be based on Spears’ memoir “The Woman in Me,” which has sold 2.5 million copies worldwide.

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No writer or cast has been set at this point.

“The Woman in Me” reveals for the first time Spears’ incredible journey — and the strength at the core of one of the greatest performers in pop music history. Written with remarkable candor and humor, Spears’s groundbreaking book illuminates the enduring power of music and love — and the importance of a woman telling her own story, on her own terms. The book was published in October 2023 and quickly rocketed to No. 1 on the New York Times Bestsellers list. It also went viral because of some hilarious audiobook narration from Michelle Williams.

Spears’ music has sold nearly 150 million records worldwide, and she was just a teenager when she became an overnight sensation behind her first hit No. 1 single “…Baby One More Time.” The song broke sales records with more than 20 million copies sold worldwide and is currently 14x Platinum in the U.S.

Spears was hounded by tabloids throughout her career, and despite a Vegas residency and other hits well into the 2000s, she gained even more attention as a result of her rare conservatorship case, which she was placed under involuntarily in 2008. She finally became free of it in 2021 and gained more autonomy over her career decisions and vocal in what she shared publicly, in part culminating in her memoir.

We’ll see though what Spears has to say about this film. Spears previously slammed the idea of a biopic back in 2022 when the idea was first floated by Millie Bobby Brown, responding by saying, “dude, I’m not dead!” But that was before the publication of her memoir, which is now the source material for the film.

“The Woman in Me” was a hot commodity with numerous studios and producers circling. Though there were a handful of producers who were rumored for it, including Margot Robbie, Reese Witherspoon, and Brad Pitt’s Plan B.

Chu’s “Wicked” opens in theaters from Universal on November 22, and the second part of the film will open a year later in 2025. He’s also known for directing “In the Heights,” “Crazy Rich Asians,” “Step Up 2: The Streets” and the Justin Bieber concert film “Never Say Never.”

Spears is represented by Hudson Management and CAA. Chu is represented by Artists First, UTA, Allison Binder, Esq of GGSSC and ID.

The Ankler first reported the news.

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