Screenwriter Liz Meriwether to write the Britney Spears biopic for Universal

Universal Pictures had already secured the rights to Spears' autobiography back in 2024. Now, with Liz Meriwether, a sought-after screenwriter is on board, as the trade publications "Variety" and "Hollywood Reporter" reported yesterday. With the hiring of the writer, the project — which has been considered one of Hollywood's most talked-about biopic ventures since the rights were acquired — gains a clear creative profile.

Source material: "The Woman in Me"

The singer, multiple recipient of platinum records and Grammy Awards ("Baby One More Time," "Oops!… I Did It Again," "Toxic"), is one of the most successful female artists in music history. Her bestselling autobiography "The Woman in Me" serves as the source material. The book was published in 2023 and had caused an international sensation.

Chu ("Crazy Rich," "Wicked") is on board as director of the project, with Marc Platt ("Legally Blonde," "La La Land") as producer. With Chu, a director takes the helm who previously became known primarily for visually opulent music film adaptations, while Platt stands as an experienced producer behind numerous musical and drama productions.

Director and production

Lead role still unknown. The studio Universal Pictures had secured the rights to Spears' memoirs in 2024. The casting of the title role — that is, the question of which actress will embody Spears in the film — remains open. The people in charge have also not yet provided any information on a concrete start date for production or theatrical release.

Lead role still open

Meriwether herself is also 44 years old. This means the writer shares not only a generation with Spears but also the experience of telling female perspectives caught between the crosscurrents of public life, fame, and personal crises. With "New Girl," Meriwether proved over the years a feel for female lead characters and pointed dialogue.

Background: Conservatorship and liberation

Battle against conservatorship: In 2008, her father had taken over guardianship of the musician after she had suffered a mental breakdown due to private and professional problems. The years under the conservatorship and the public fight to have it lifted constituted one of the most widely discussed conflicts between a celebrity and those around them in recent entertainment history.

In November 2021, after a long legal battle, the singer was freed from this conservatorship by a court. The end of the conservatorship marked a turning point that triggered the worldwide #FreeBritney movement and a broad debate about the rights of people under guardianship.

Recent incident and public perception

In March 2026, Spears made headlines because she drove a car under the influence of alcohol and drugs. This incident, which became public just before work began on the biopic screenplay, once again underscores the ruptures and headlines that have shaped Spears' life for decades and that provide material for the film treatment.

The biopic is part of a growing list of music film projects with which Hollywood has in recent years retold the lives of well-known pop and rock artists. The combination of an autobiographical source, an established director, and an experienced production company is considered within the industry a solid foundation for a film project of this magnitude.

Universal Pictures is one of the major studios in the U.S. film industry and has experience adapting popular material into film. With the hiring of Meriwether as screenwriter, the studio is betting on a creative who has repeatedly demonstrated in recent years the ability to develop complex female characters and narratively dense stories for series and films.

It remains unclear to what extent Spears herself will be involved in the screenwriting process. Neither the studio nor Meriwether has publicly commented on this so far. A statement from Spears on the project is also still pending.

Industry observers expect that the casting of the lead role will rank among the most discussed casting decisions of the coming months. The pressure to find a performer who is convincing both vocally and in terms of acting, and who at the same time can withstand the public perception of Spears, is considered high.

With the hiring of Meriwether, the personnel planning for the film in the key creative position has for now been completed. Director, production, and screenplay are set. According to those close to the project, the further steps production will take until the theatrical release will depend on the further development of the script and the subsequent casting search.