Jamie Lee Curtis better bust out the doilies and contempo casual trench coats — it seems she’s headed to “Murder, She Wrote.”
Variety has confirmed that Oscar winner Curtis is in early talks to play the iconic Jessica Fletcher, a crime writer turned crack detective, who was at the center of the long-running original TV series that starred Angela Lansbury.
Universal Pictures is putting together an untitled feature film project together around Fletcher, via producers Phil Lord, Chris Miller and Amy Pascal (all have overall deals on the Donna Langley-run studio lot).
Early concepts around the character and any premise are currently unknown. The script is from Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo (who penned “Dumb Money,” the GameStop stock scandal story which became a feature at Sony under Craig Gillespie).
Representatives for Curtis and Universal had no immediate comment on the matter.
Universal Television produced “Murder, She Wrote” which ran for 12 seasons starting in 1984. Lansbury became a household name thanks to her portrayal of an unusual gumshoe, often in perilous situations but always polite and clutching a sensible handbag. The series peaked at a reported 40 million viewers a week, and still averaged around 25 million per episode through the end of its run.
It’s been nearly two years since Curtis nabbed the Academy Award for best supporting actress for her performance in “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” She’s currently on the awards circuit for “The Last Showgirl,” Gia Coppola’s ode to the faded glamour girls of the Las Vegas strip. She’ll next appear in James L. Brooks’ “Ella McKay.”
Deadline first reported the news of the Curtis talks.
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