rewrite this title Murder, She Wrote movie starring Jamie Lee Curtis delayed to 2028 release

We’ll have to wait a little longer to return to Cabot Cove, as Universal Pictures has pushed back the release of the Murder, She Wrote movie starring Jamie Lee Curtis. The film was originally slated to hit theaters on December 22, 2027, but has now been delayed to February 4, 2028.

This move will give the movie a little breathing room from some big releases, including Avengers: Secret Wars, The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, and The Housemaid’s Secret, all of which are currently slated to open on December 17.

Murder, She Wrote

The original Murder, She Wrote TV series starred the incomparable Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher, a retired schoolteacher who becomes a successful mystery writer and amateur detective. Set in the fictional town of Cabot Cove, Maine, as well as across the United States (and sometimes abroad), the series spanned 12 seasons and aired from 1984 to 1996. Once the show concluded, Lansbury returned in four television movies that were released from 1997 to 2003. Murder, She Wrote continues to be a beloved series, and while the thought of anyone else stepping into the role may seem sacrilegious, I’ll admit to being curious about Curtis tackling the character.

Jason Moore (Pitch Perfect) is set to direct the movie from a script by Lauren Schuker Blum & Rebecca Angelo (Dumb Money). Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who are currently riding high on the success of Project Hail Mary, are producing the film.

I’m a fan of the original series, though I’m fairly new to it. I watched my first episode just last year, and there is really something very special and cozy about it. Alternate with some Columbo, and there goes my Friday nights.

The TV Reboot

Before the movie began to take shape, a series reboot was also in the works in 2013. Octavia Spencer was set to star as a hospital administrator and amateur sleuth who self-publishes her first mystery novel. Fans weren’t really keen on a reboot, and neither was Lansbury. Although the actress was a fan of Spencer, she thought the series should be called something else. “I think it’s a mistake to call it Murder, She Wrote because Murder, She Wrote will always be about Cabot Cove and this wonderful little group of people who told those lovely stories and enjoyed a piece of that place, and also enjoyed Jessica Fletcher, who is a rare and very individual kind of person,” Lansbury said. A year later, it was announced that the project wouldn’t be moving forward.