Oscar winners Renée Zellweger and Sissy Spacek are teaming up with Mia Threapleton (“The Phoenician Scheme”) for “A Woman in the Sun,” a new drama that already feels impossible for me to ignore.
Part of the intrigue comes from the rarity of seeing Zellweger and Spacek commit to a new project — both actresses are famously selective, often taking years between roles; to have both in the same film is a small kind of casting miracle.
The project also marks the feature directorial debut of Julia Cox, best known for writing “Nyad,” with Black Bear and Artist Equity partnering alongside Zellweger’s Big Picture Co. Black Bear is expected to launch the film to international buyers at the Cannes market.
Set over the course of one emotionally turbulent month, “A Woman in the Sun” centers on Claire Keating, a bartender living on Nantucket and struggling to remain part of the island’s shrinking middle class. Her already fragile routine is shaken when her mother becomes ill and her daughter suddenly moves back home, forcing Claire to confront unresolved pain, family obligations, and the uncertain shape of her future.
The story is described as a multi-generational drama exploring the complicated ways people love and fail one another across generations. Filming is set to begin in September 2026.
Spacek’s iconic list of films includes “Badlands,” “3 Women,” “In the Bedroom,” “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” and “Carrie.” She has mostly been doing television work of late, starring in Prime Video’s “Night Sky,” Prime Video’s “Homecoming,” Hulu’s “Castle Rock,” and Netflix’s “Bloodline.” She also made a rare movie appearance last year in Lynne Ramsay’s “Die, My Love.”
Meanwhile, Zellweger won her second Oscar for “Judy” in 2020 and then largely disappeared from the limelight. She did not appear in another film until last year’s “Bridget Jones,” which premiered on streaming in the U.S. Long before “Judy,” Zellweger won her first Oscar, 15 years earlier, for “Cold Mountain.” She has starred in only one film over the last seven years, but “A Woman in the Sun” is next.