Angelina Jolie to star as opera singer Maria Callas in Pablo Larraín’s next biopic

Pablo Larraín has found the subject for his third biopic of a famous woman, and no, it’s still not Britney Spears. Following Jackie and Spencer, the director will bring opera singer Maria Callas to the screen. As reported by Variety, Angelina Jolie is attached to star in Maria.

“Having the chance to combine my two most deep and personal passions, cinema and opera, has been a long-awaited dream,” Larraín says. “To do this with Angelina, a supremely brave and curious artist, is a fascinating opportunity. A true gift.”

Already acclaimed for 2012's No, the Chilean director rose to greater prominence with the release of his English-language debut Jackie in 2016. Starring Natalie Portman in the title role, the film examined Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’ grief in the immediate aftermath of John F. Kennedy’s assassination. Though Jackie was followed by the 2019 Chile-set marriage drama Ema, its natural successor was last year’s Spencer, which turned Princess Diana’s Christmas with the royal family into a tense, stylish thriller. Though star Kristen Stewart was, like Portman, nominated for an Oscar, Larraín himself was unfortunately snubbed by the Academy both times.

Though Larraín’s filmography has covered a wide variety of subjects, like poet Pablo Neruda and child abuse in the Catholic church, Jackie and Spencer have undeniably become his calling cards. The director has previously stated that he envisions completing a trilogy of biopics in this vein.

Maria will see Larraín reuniting with Spencer screenwriter Steven Knight. Per the film’s logline, the project will “[tell] the tumultuous, beautiful, and tragic story of the life of the world’s greatest opera singer, relived and re-imagined during her final days in 1970s Paris.” Jolie was last seen on screen returning to her action star roots in Eternals and Those Who Wish Me Dead.