Meryl Streep is set to play Joni Mitchell in Cameron Crowe’s long-gestating biopic, a project that’s been circling Hollywood long enough to feel almost mythical. Now it’s real, it’s shooting later this year (via Rolling Stone), and yes, Crowe, who hasn’t made a movie since 2015’s Aloha, is finally directing again after more than a decade away from feature films.
Crowe first met Mitchell in 1979 while writing for Rolling Stone. The two stayed close for decades, so this isn’t a biopic built from Wikipedia tabs and greatest hits playlists. Not like Michael.
Clive Davis made the casting official at his pre-Grammy party in Los Angeles, announcing the news while introducing A-listers at the Beverly Hilton. Mitchell was in the room, too. When Rolling Stone followed up, Crowe simply pointed back to Davis’ announcement.
Streep, now 76, hasn’t appeared in a film since Don’t Look Up in 2021 and has mostly been doing TV, including Only Murders in the Building. She’s also lined up for The Devil Wears Prada 2 in 2026.
Playing Joni Mitchell places her back in familiar territory, of course. She’s portrayed plenty of real figures before, like Julia Child and Margaret Thatcher. But her role as Mitchell could be special, especially because the singer has been directly involved with the film for years.
“We’ve been working on it for about four years,” Crowe said on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in October. “We have regular meetings where I can ask her anything and she speaks with her heart about all kinds of stuff. It’s a movie that will be not from a distance… This is from her perspective, her life, looking out.”
Crowe has said Mitchell kept all her clothes, instruments, and costumes, and still owns her Laurel Canyon home. That information should probably tell you how close to real-life this film will be.
Mitchell, 82, has stepped back into public view after years of recovery following a 2015 brain aneurysm. She returned to the stage at Newport Folk Festival in 2022, performed at the Grammys in 2024, and walked the red carpet again in February 2026.
If you’re expecting a standard rise-fall-redemption arc, think again. That probably won’t be this movie. Crowe’s words, Mitchell’s voice, and Streep’s emotional performances? That combination alone makes this pretty epic.
