Jessica Lange is set to star in the film adaptation of Joan Didion’s 2005 award-winning novel The Year of Magical Thinking.
In an interview with USA Today, the 75-year-old Academy Award-winning actress, best known for her roles in Frances (1982), Tootsie (1982), Blue Sky (1994), and the American Horror Story franchise, told the publication that she’s excited to be involved in the film, which is set to be released in early 2025.
Didion wrote The Year of Magical Thinking following the death of her husband, author John Gregory Dunne, while she cared for her sick daughter Quintana Roo Dunne, who passed away in 2005. The book’s title alludes to magical thinking in the anthropological sense, where one believes that wishing intensely or performing specific actions can prevent an inevitable event. Didion shares numerous examples of her magical thinking, such as her inability to give away Dunne’s shoes because she believed he would need them when he returned. A significant theme is the madness or disorientation accompanying grief, a subject on which Didion found limited existing literature.
In 2007, The Year of Magical Thinking was adapted for Broadway, premiering at the Booth Theatre. The dramatic adaptation was a one-woman play starring the illustrious Vanessa Redgrave as Joan Didion. This previous adaptation sets the stage for Lange’s portrayal in the upcoming film. While Lange did not reveal any more details about the movie, its cast, or how it will be adapted, it’s safe to assume that she will portray Didion.