Murder, She Wrote Movie Has Found The Perfect Angela Lansbury Replacement

It's extremely difficult to picture anyone in the role of Jessica Fletcher other than Angela Lansbury. The original "Murder, She Wrote" TV series lasted a gangbusters 264 episodes over the course of 12 seasons, running from 1984 all the way through 1996. Lansbury received 12 Emmy nominations for the series, and it was a regular staple in many American households. "Murder, She Wrote" might be described as a cozy mystery, following a sweet but determined mystery author, Fletcher, who solved murders in the small town of Cabot Cove, Maine, and later expanded to other cities. 

There have been a few efforts to reboot "Murder, She Wrote" over the years. In 2013, it was reported that Octavia Spencer was on the docket for playing the lead in a new series. Spencer's character would be a hospital administrator who self-publishes mystery novels on the side and gets involved in amateur sleuthing along the way. The original plan was for Spencer to be named Jessica Fletcher, but after some objections from Lansbury herself, they decided to change the character's name. Sadly, that version eventually fell apart. 

Back in 2023, /Film reported that "Dumb Money" writers Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo were adapting "Murder, She Wrote" as a feature film. The new movie was to take place in Cabot Cove and feature Jessica Fletcher as the lead character. The plan was to make Jessica a more complex, nuanced character this time. No actors had been announced. Until now. 

According to a new report from Variety, the new "Murder, She Wrote" movie will star Jamie Lee Curtis as Jessica. This is perfect casting, and the film is currently eyeballing a December 2027 release. 

The new "Murder, She Wrote" movie will be produced by Amy Pascal, Phil Lord, and Christopher Miller, whose sci-fi flick "Project Hail Mary" is currently burning up the box office. The presence of Lord and Miller might lead one to assume that the new "Murder, She Wrote" will be a slapstick spoof of some kind, seeing as they also oversaw "21 Jump Street," another 1980s TV artifact being rebooted on the big screen, but little is actually known about "Murder, She Wrote," and its tone is only a matter of speculation at this point. It could be a serious murder mystery, or a slapstick farce. 

Regardless, Jamie Lee Curtis would be perfect casting for either. As proven by the hit family film "Freakier Friday," Curtis, 67, is still wholly capable of committing perfect pratfalls and giving broad, comic performances. She was also recently in James L. Brooks' dramedy "Ella McCay" as well as the recent "Halloween" movies, so she's also still quite capable of turning in humane and intense performances as well. One can easily picture her as a resolute, more outspoken version of Jessica Fletcher. 

"Murder, She Wrote" is slated to be released on December 22, 2027, which will be a busy movie season. The week prior, Marvel intends to release its superhero epic (and bathroom-scene-free) "Avengers: Secret Wars," and Warner Bros. will release its fantasy picture "The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum" that same day. Of course, screenwriters Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo aren't scared, having already said they hope that "Murder, She Wrote" will inspire a mismatched double-feature phenomenon along the lines of Barbenheimer. "Murder, She Wars," perhaps? Or "Gollum, She Wrote?"