EXCLUSIVE: Ella Beatty, star of Netflix’s forthcoming Monster installment on alleged Massachusetts axe murderer Lizzie Borden, is in final talks to join Billie Eilish and Carey Mulligan in The Bell Jar, Focus Features‘ film adaptation of the classic novel by Sylvia Plath, sources tell Deadline.
Reps for Focus declined comment, and it’s not yet clear who Beatty will play. Eilish will play protagonist Esther Greenwood, in her film acting debut, with Mulligan set to play her mother.
The only novel written by American writer and poet Plath, The Bell Jar is a semi-autobiographical work charting a young woman’s descent into mental illness and the burden of societal pressures. Originally published in 1963, the book paralleled Plath’s own experiences with depression; the writer tragically died by suicide just a month after the novel’s first UK publication. In the U.S., the book became an instant bestseller, and has since been translated into more than 40 languages.
Oscar winner Sarah Polley (Women Talking) is set to direct from her own script, with Plan B, Studiocanal and Joy Coalition among the producers. Joy Gorman Wettels (Little House on the Prairie, 13 Reasons Why) originated the project through Joy Coalition, packaging it with Eilish and Polley and partnering with Plan B and StudioCanal ahead of Focus boarding.
Beatty comes to The Bell Jar after winning the lead role in Monster‘s new season after an extensive multi-country casting search. Created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan, the true-crime franchise’s next installment has her sharing the screen with Rebecca Hall and Vicky Krieps.
Beatty made her screen debut just a couple of years ago with a role in FX/Hulu’s Feud: Capote vs. The Swans. Juilliard trained, she most recently appeared opposite Rose Byrne and A$AP Rocky in Mary Bronstein’s lauded A24 drama If I Had Legs I’d Kick You.
On stage, Beatty most recently starred in the Off-Broadway play Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes, opposite Hugh Jackman. Upcoming, she’ll also be seen opposite Graynor and Nate Mann in Sophia Takal’s psychological thriller Act One, which is coming off its world premiere at the Tribeca Festival.
Beatty is repped by CAA, Entertainment 360 and Jackoway Austen Tyerman.
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