Maria Callas was a star of the stage, one of the most influential and legendary opera singers of the 20th century. Now she is going to be a star of the screen, portrayed by Angelina Jolie in the new biopic simply titled Maria.
Maria hails from director Pablo Larraín, who has previously brought two other iconic women of the 20th century to the screen: former first lady Jackie Onasis in Jackie and Princess Diana in Spencer. Both of those movies earned Best Actress nominations for their leading ladies (Natalie Portman in Jackie and Kristen Stewart in Spencer), and Jolie could very well be in contention for a similar achievement, as it is one of many movies in contention for possible Oscar nominations this year.
Find out more about Maria right here, as we go over all the key details for the movie that you need to know.
Maria release date
A release date for Maria has not been set, but it is widely believed that the movie will join the slate of 2024 new movies. Especially as it has been reported that Netflix has picked up the movie for US distribution, per Deadline.
Lending credence to that idea is the fact that Maria is part of the lineup at the 2024 Venice Film Festival, which usually serves as a launching pad for movies coming out in the last few months of the year.
When any news on the Maria release date becomes available we'll add it here.
Maria cast
As mentioned, starring in Maria is Angelina Jolie, with the Oscar winner playing the iconic opera singer. This is actually the first movie that Jolie has starred in since 2021, specifically the MCU movie Eternals. She is of course best known for Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and Girl, Interrupted, the latter of which earned her the Oscar (Best Supporting Actress).
Joining Jolie in the Maria cast are Pierfrancesco Favino (Angels & Demons), Alba Rohrwacher (My Brilliant Friend), Haluk Bilginer (Persona), Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Power of the Dog), Stephen Ashfield (The Devil's Hour) and Valeria Golino (The Beautiful Game).
Maria plot
Steven Knight, who previously worked with Larraín on Spencer, wrote the script for Maria. Here is the official synopsis:
"Maria tells the tumultuous, beautiful and tragic story of the life of the world's greatest female opera singer, relived and reimagined during her final days in 1970s Paris."
Maria trailer
There is no trailer for Maria yet, but a clip from the movie has debuted online, giving us a brief look at Jolie's performance. Check it out directly below:
Pablo Larraín movies
Originally from Chile, Larraín has made himself known across the world with his movies. Here is a look at his directing credits to date:
- Fuga (2006)
- Tony Manero (2008)
- Post Mortem (2010)
- No (2012)
- The Club (2015)
- Neruda (2016)
- Jackie (2016)
- Ema (2019)
- Spencer (2021)
- El Conde (2023)
