War movies have always been a big genre in Hollywood, but plenty of movies have also shined a spotlight on the mental toll of war, which the upcoming movie My Dead Friend Zoe is going to do. This indie movie is drawing a solid bit of buzz ahead of its release in 2025.
A big reason for that is this is a movie made about veterans by a veteran in writer-director Kyle Hausmann-Stokes, who earned a Bronze Star as a paratrooper while serving in Iraq. This is Hausmann-Stokes’ feature film debut, based on a short film that he made in 2022.
Let’s dive into everything you need to know about the movie.
My Dead Friend Zoe release date
My Dead Friend Zoe premieres exclusively in US movie theaters on February 28, 2025; at this time we don’t have any info on a potential UK release.
The movie’s release to general audiences comes almost a year after it made its world premiere at the South by Southwest Film Festival in March 2024 where it won the festival’s audience award.
My Dead Friend Zoe cast
Sonequa Martin-Green, best known for her roles on Star Trek: Discovery and The Walking Dead, leads My Dead Friend Zoe as Afghan war veteran Merit. This is Martin-Green’s biggest leading role in a movie, though she did previously star in Space Jam: A New Legacy and the Netflix Christmas movie Holiday Rush.
Starring opposite Martin-Green as the titular Zoe is Natalie Morales. Like her co-star, Morales has had a lot of success on TV, including memorable stints on Parks & Recreation, Trophy Wife, The Grinder, Santa Clarita Diet and Grey’s Anatomy. On the movie side she’s starred in Battle of the Sexes, The Little Things and No Hard Feelings.
My Dead Friend Zoe also stars two of Hollywood’s most esteemed actors, Ed Harris and Morgan Freeman. Harris is playing Merit’s grandfather, while Freeman plays Dr. Cole, who helps Merit as she attempts to deal with the impact war had on her. Harris was recently seen in the A24 movie Love Lies Bleeding, while Freeman’s most recent credit has been Lioness season 2. Worth noting, that Freeman himself is a veteran, having served in the US Air Force.
Other members of the My Dead Friend Zoe cast include Utkarsh Ambudkar (CBS’s Ghosts) and Gloria Reuben (Mr. Robot).
My Dead Friend Zoe plot
Here is the official synopsis for My Dead Friend Zoe:
“Inspired by a true story, My Dead Friend Zoe is a dark comedy drama about a complicated friendship and a divided family. Merit, an Afghanistan veteran who’s engaged in a mysterious relationship with Zoe, her wise-cracking (dead) best friend from the Army, is summoned to the family’s ancestral lake house to care for her ailing Vietnam vet grandfather and, thanks to a persistent VA counselor and an unexpected love interest, is forced to confront her past once and for all.”
My Dead Friend Zoe trailer
Watch the trailer for My Dead Friend Zoe right here:
My Dead Friend Zoe reviews
Having already screened at film festivals, My Dead Friend Zoe has had a number of reviews written about it already, and all good. As of November 12, My Dead Friend Zoe has a 100% “Fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Among the takes, Variety’s Peter Debruge called the movie “smart and sincere but never sanctimonious.”
My Dead Friend Zoe behind the scenes
Hausmann-Stokes’ story is truly incredible. He enlisted in the army one month before 9/11 and served three years in Iraq, but was set to have his service involuntarily continued because of a process known as “stop-loss.” A truly fortuitous act set him on his path to making this movie. As the filmmaker detailed to Variety:
“I’m crushed. I have these big plans to go to film school. I get a call one night that the colonel wants to see me in his office. I was known throughout the battalion as the film guy. I was always secretly making films of our airborne jumps and our jungle warfare training. The colonel said, ‘I think you might be destined for something different than going to war with us right now. I’ve made arrangements for you and only you to be exempt from this stop-loss. You’re going to find the best film school in the world, hone your craft and tell the soldier’s story. You’re going to be our voice in Hollywood.’”
That allowed him to attend USC Film School and eventually make My Dead Friend Zoe, which is a semi-autobiographical story. But, as detailed in another story from Variety, Hausmann-Stokes’ desire to have some separation while writing the story and his experience traveling the country and interviewing numerous inspiring women veterans, he decided to have his two main characters be female.
Helping Hausmann-Stokes bring My Dead Friend Zoe to audiences is Legion M, a production company that is backed by fan investment, Radiant Media Studios, ReCre8 Entertainment and Briarcliff Entertainment, which is distributing the movie. It’s also worth mentioning that Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chief superstar, is executive producing the movie, his first such credit.
