Margot Robbie as Britney Spears? The Truth Behind the Biopic Buzz
The X rumor mill says Margot Robbie is circling Britney Spears for a biopic adapted from The Woman in Me, following earlier reports that a film based on the memoir is moving forward.
Twitter did its Twitter thing and suddenly the timeline decided Margot Robbie is playing Britney Spears in a big studio biopic. Fun rumor. Not true.
So, is Margot Robbie playing Britney Spears?
Short answer: no. That X rumor about Robbie being in talks to star as Britney got shot down fast. Beauty pro Sean Garrette, who has worked with Rihanna, replied to the post and called it false. This is one of those stories where a casting whisper turned into a headline before anyone noticed the actual receipts were missing.
"no shade, but no."
That was Garrette on November 18, 2025. And for now, that tracks with what I’m hearing: Robbie is not negotiating to play Britney.
What Universal’s Britney movie actually is
Here’s the real project. Universal picked up the rights to Britney Spears’s hit memoir 'The Woman in Me' and gave the film the go-ahead back in August 2024. Jon M. Chu — yes, 'Wicked' Jon M. Chu — is attached to direct, with his 'Wicked' producer Marc Platt producing here too.
The rights deal was big — The Ankler pegs it in the eight-figure range — and Universal reportedly beat out Sony, Warner Bros, Fox, Disney, and Netflix to lock it down. Before that, Margot Robbie’s production company tried to get the book as well, and there was also interest from Shonda Rhimes and Brad Pitt’s Plan B. Competitive doesn’t even begin to cover it.
As for the book itself, it sold over 2 million copies in the U.S. by January 2024 and more than 3 million in print worldwide. The memoir covers Britney’s rocket ride to stardom, the years she spent under a conservatorship, and high-profile relationships with Justin Timberlake, Wade Robson, Colin Farrell, and Kevin Federline. She also writes about her sister Jamie Lynn, various public blowups, and motherhood. In other words, plenty of material for a movie — and the kind of material that only works if the casting is dead-on, which is why people got so hyped about the Robbie rumor.
A tease from Britney herself
Last year, Britney posted that she’d been working on a secret project with producer Marc Platt, which lines up with the Universal plan and Chu’s involvement.
"Excited to share with my fans that I've been working on a secret project with #MarcPlatt. He's always made my favorite movies ... stay tuned"
That’s not a casting announcement, to be clear. Just another breadcrumb that the adaptation is real and moving.
Universal is on a music-story kick
This isn’t the only musician-centric thing they’ve got cooking. A Snoop Dogg biopic is in development, there’s a Prince music-inspired film brewing, and a Pharrell Williams-inspired project actually wrapped last year. If you’re sensing a trend, you’re not wrong.
So where did Robbie’s name come from?
Two things can be true: 1) Margot Robbie is not currently in talks to play Britney, and 2) Robbie’s camp did seriously chase the book rights before Universal won. That’s probably how her name got stapled to the chatter. It’s a weird game of telephone, but it happens all the time with hot packages like this.
What Margot Robbie is actually doing next
- Wuthering Heights: Emerald Fennell is directing a loose take on Emily Bronte’s 1847 novel, with Warner Bros reportedly spending around $80 million. The trailer just dropped, fans are into Robbie opposite Jacob Elordi, and it hits theaters February 13, 2026. Given Fennell’s vibe from 'Promising Young Woman' and 'Saltburn', expect something bold.
- Ocean’s prequel: Robbie is set to lead a new entry in the 'Ocean’s' franchise first announced in August 2022, playing the mother of Danny and Debbie Ocean (that’s George Clooney and Sandra Bullock in the existing movies). 'Twisters' director Lee Isaac Chung has taken over from Jay Roach, with Carrie Solomon ('A Family Affair') writing.
- Pirates update: Producer Jerry Bruckheimer says Robbie is still involved with a 'Pirates of the Caribbean' project — his words: "She’s still involved." He didn’t clarify whether it’s a standalone film or tied to the main sequels.
- A Big Bold Beautiful Journey: Her recent team-up with Colin Farrell didn’t land at the box office, but she’s got plenty in the pipeline, as you can see.
Bottom line
There is a Britney Spears biopic in the works at Universal based on 'The Woman in Me', with Jon M. Chu directing and Marc Platt producing. The deal was massive, the competition for the rights was fierce, and the book gives the movie plenty to work with. But Margot Robbie playing Britney? Not happening right now. When the real casting drops, you’ll hear it from a place more official than a stray X post.