*Courtesy of Frazer Harrison / Getty Images.*

A24 is expanding its on-going collaboration with Zendaya with their upcoming biopic about legendary singer Ronnie Spector, which will be helmed by Barry Jenkins, with Dave Kajganich serving as screenwriter.

Zendaya is set to portray the iconic singer, which aims to provide a deep dive into Spector's experiences rather than presenting a standard biographical narrative from birth to death. Jenkins and Zendaya, who have been eager to collaborate, have chosen a creative approach to tell Spector’s story, focusing on her life with the controversial producer Phil Spector.

The agreements for the rights to Spector’s life and her memoir ‘Be My Baby,’ co-authored with Vince Waldron, are confirmed to be secure. The film is currently in development, with Kajganich working intensively on a screenplay that reflects the vision Zendaya and Jenkins envision.

A24 secured the highly anticipated project in 2022 and will produce it alongside Marc Platt, Adam Siegel, Mark Itkin, Tom Shelly, and Zendaya herself. Jonathan Greenfield will serve as the executive producer. Prior to her death, Ronnie Spector was actively involved as an executive producer and personally chose Zendaya for the role. Additionally, Adele Romanski and Mark Ceryak from Jenkins' production company, Pastel, will also serve as producers.

This project marks another collaboration between A24 and Jenkins, who previously worked together on the Academy Award-winning ‘Moonlight’ and the forthcoming ‘Sorry, Baby,’ which Jenkins produced. This film also represents the third partnership between A24 and Zendaya, following the Emmy-winning ‘Euphoria’ and the soon-to-be-released ‘The Drama,’ in which she stars alongside Robert Pattinson. Zendaya is represented by CAA and Monster Talent Management, and Granderson Des Rochers.

Jenkins’ recent directorial work includes Disney’s ‘Mufasa,’ which grossed over $720 million worldwide, making it the sixth highest-grossing film of 2024.

Additionally, Jenkins is currently collaborating with Glen Powell on the adult sci-fi movie ‘The Natural Order’ for Universal, based on Matt Aldrich’s forthcoming novel, with Powell starring and Jenkins directing.

MORE NEWS