Wicked director nabs fan-favorite writer for Britney Spears biopic

If you thought the Britney Spears saga had cooled off, think again. The next bombshell is heading straight for the big screen—a full-blown Britney biopic, and the creative team they’ve enlisted is honestly a bit surprising, even by Hollywood’s usual standards.

Who’s Calling the Shots?

First up, Jon M. Chu (the bloke behind Wicked, Crazy Rich Asians, and the less-celebrated Step Up sequels) is in the director’s chair. Chu’s slate is already packed—he’s juggling adaptations of Oh, the Places You’ll Go! and, bizarrely, Hot Wheels—but apparently he’s making room for Britney. Chu’s got a knack for flashy musicals and ensemble casts, so there’s potential for spectacle, if nothing else.

The Writer: Not Exactly What You’d Expect

Here’s where it gets particularly interesting: Liz Meriwether is on script duty. If that name’s not ringing a bell, she created New Girl and wrote The Dropout, Dying for Sex, plus a few sitcoms like Bless This Mess and Single Parents. Not your typical pick for a headline-making pop biography, but, on paper, she knows her way round complicated female leads. They’re working straight from Spears’s 2023 memoir, The Woman in Me, which famously pulled no punches and sold over 1.1 million copies in the US its first week. So, heavy material, handed to a writer with a comedic touch—let’s see how that combo works out.

What We Know (and Don’t Know) So Far

• The movie pulls directly from Spears’s best-selling memoir, covering her meteoric rise and famously grim lows—nothing is off-limits, if the book’s anything to go by.
• Jon M. Chu’s previously said Britney herself will be 'very involved' in the making of the film. Exactly what that means, nobody’s clarified, but she’s not just handing the reins to Hollywood and walking away.
• No one’s been cast for the lead yet. Emma Roberts has publicly declared she’d kill to play Britney, but there’s been zero official movement. Fans are already fantasy-casting across social media, as you’d expect.
• Marc Platt is producing. He’s a regular collaborator for high-profile musicals and adaptations—La La Land, Wicked, etc.—so the project isn’t short on money or industry backing.
• There’s no release date, trailer, or even a broad timeframe. Everything’s very much early days.

Pop Biopics: Very Much a Thing Again

In case you missed it, this is the latest in a parade of big-budget music star biopics. The Michael Jackson film recently blitzed the global box office, pulling in just shy of a billion dollars (yes, billion with a b). If that seems wild, Sam Mendes is currently working on four different Beatles biopics—one per band member, all interconnected. Studios are clearly betting big on music history right now, with Britney’s story primed for maximum drama.

Quote Watch

Chu, when pressed about Britney’s involvement, kept it short: 'She’ll be very involved.' Take that as you will; Hollywood 'very involved' could mean anything from daily Zoom calls to a couple of producer credits tacked on after the fact.