The classic television series fronted by late Angela Lansbury is being adapted for a feature film with 'Dumb Money' scribes enlisted by Universal to write the screenplay.
- September 13, 2023
AceShowbiz - "Murder, She Wrote" big screen adaptation has been ordered by Universal before the Hollywood strikes. "Dumb Money" writers Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo have announced Universal commissioned them to write a reboot of the classic series - which starred Dame Angela Lansbury as amateur detective and author Jessica Fletcher - for a feature film.
"We'll tell you one thing that hasn't been reported yet, which is we have written a theatrical feature film version of 'Murder, She Wrote' for Universal, and we're really excited," Schuker Blum told Collider. Angelo added, "It's with Pascal Pictures in Pascal and Universal, and we're very excited to bring [Jessica Fletcher to the big screen]."
Lansbury played Fletcher in 264 episodes of the iconic murder mystery show between 1984 and 1996, and reprised the role in four feature length TV movies from 1997 to 2003. It's unclear who would take on the role following the veteran star's death in October 2022 aged 96.
Angelo noted that Universal was "very excited" about the project, adding that it's "Jessica Fletcher's time to return." However, Schuker Blum admitted that despite the studio being "gung-ho" for the project, they haven't been in talks for several months due to the ongoing Hollywood strikes with both SAG-AFTRA and the Writers Guild of America currently taking action.
Lansbury died in her sleep last year, as her family said in a statement, "The children of Dame Angela Lansbury are sad to announce that their mother died peacefully in her sleep at home in Los Angeles at 1,30 AM today, Tuesday, October 11, 2022, just five days shy of her 97th birthday."
The London-born actress won a host of accolades during her decades-long career, including five Tony awards and an honorary Oscar.
Lansbury - who was inducted into the TV Hall of Fame in 1996 and was made a Dame by Queen Elizabeth in 2014 - said, " 'Murder, She Wrote' has given me more worldwide attention than any other role I played in the movies or on the stage. It's a wonderful thing to be known in Spain, Portugal, in Paris, in France and Germany and everywhere."
