Jamie Lee Curtis' Murder, She Wrote Release Pushed Back to 2028

Well, this is a move I didn’t expect so soon: Universal has quietly bumped its ‘Murder, She Wrote’ movie, starring Jamie Lee Curtis, from prime Christmas holiday real estate to the much less competitive (and honestly kind of random) early February 2028 slot. If you were plotting your ‘movie mysteries to look forward to’ timeline, better pull out your calendar and add a couple dozen months.

Why the Date Shuffle?

Originally, Universal circled December 22, 2027 for its big return to Cabot Cove, hoping to jump on that sweet holiday box office rush. But, with what’s shaping up to be a traffic jam of event movies all fighting for attention that week, someone at the studio finally blinked. And after seeing the line-up, I don’t blame them:

• Disney/Marvel has Avengers: Secret Wars (the next ‘every superhero in a blender’ epic)
• New Line is dropping The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum
• Lionsgate is rolling out The Housemaid's Secret
• Warner Bros. offers up that still-untitled Nancy Meyers joint
• Sony has the animated Buds

So instead of trying to out-sleuth a bunch of costumed heroes, or upstage Gollum and friends, Universal’s decided to slide Murder, She Wrote into a quiet February 4, 2028 date. Right now, there’s basically zero major competition on the board for then, which is probably smart. Honestly, a cozy mystery feels like a better fit for winter doldrums anyway.

The Team Behind the Curtain

If you’re wondering who’s actually making this thing: Jason Moore is set to direct (his credits include ‘Pitch Perfect,’ so expect some zippy pacing). The script comes courtesy of Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo, the duo behind ‘Dumb Money’. Your producers are an interesting mix: Amy Pascal and then Lord Miller’s trio (Phil Lord, Chris Miller, Aditya Sood) thanks to their first-look deal with Universal.

Worth noting: That very same Lord Miller producing crew just scored a sizable hit with Amazon MGM’s ‘Project Hail Mary’—$147 million globally and counting as of now. If that success carries over, Universal will be even happier about this new date.

So...What’s It About?

Shockingly, plot details are still under wraps. No word if we’ll be staying faithful to the coziness of the original TV series or going off-road for something wackier. All we know is Jamie Lee Curtis will try on Angela Lansbury’s sensible shoes as the amateur sleuth Jessica Fletcher.

For the readers who haven't spent late nights with a cup of tea and reruns: Murder, She Wrote ran from 1984 to 1996 on CBS, with Lansbury’s Jessica Fletcher solving murders in fictional Cabot Cove (where, let’s be real, the murder rate defied all logic). The show nabbed 41 (!) Emmy nods, with Lansbury herself nominated every single year. She never actually won—but hey, she did return for four TV movies after the series wrapped. So there’s a precedent.

In short: You’ll be waiting until at least 2028 to see Jamie Lee Curtis try her hand at solving murders and writing bestsellers. Whether that huge date shift gives us a better movie—or just saves it from getting crushed at the holiday box office—remains the real mystery.

'Universal believes the new date offers better playability for this type of movie outside the Christmas window.'