By Justin Kroll
EXCLUSIVE: Madelyn Cline is in talks to join Glen Powell in a new original untitled comedy at Universal that Judd Apatow is on board to direct. Apatow and Powell co-wrote the pic, and Cristin Milioti also recently joined the cast.
The film, in which Powell plays a country-western star in free-fall, has been set for release on February 5, 2027.
Apatow will produce through his longstanding Apatow Productions overall deal with the studio, and Powell and Dan Cohen will produce through Barnstorm’s first-look deal. Kevin Misher will produce through Misher Films. Universal Senior EVP Production Development Erik Baiers and Director of Production Development Jacqueline Garell will oversee the project.
In the film, Cline will play a pop star; sources say Apatow and studio execs had been looking at real-life pop stars to play the part, but in recent weeks had opened up the audition process. Following Cline’s most recent meeting, the rising star blew away execs, we’re told, leading to an offer.
Cline’s star has been on the rise following her breakout performance in the Netflix series Outer Banks. The show returned for its fourth season in the fall, hit No. 1 immediately, and was in Netflix’s Top 10 for more than seven weeks. She will return for the series’s fifth and final season to premiere in 2026.
In July, she starred in Sony’s I Know What You Did Last Summer sequel alongside an all-star next-gen cast featuring Chase Sui Wonders, Sarah Pidgeon, Jonah Hauer-King, and Tyriq Withers, as well as returning stars Sarah Michelle Gellar, Freddie Prinze Jr., and Jennifer Love Hewitt.
The next month, Cline and KJ Apa led Amazon’s romantic drama The Map That Leads to You for Lasse Hallström. The film hit No. 1 on Prime Video’s Top 10 the day it was released.
Cline will next be seen starring opposite Johnny Depp and Penélope Cruz this year in Lionsgate’s Day Drinker for director Marc Webb.
She is repped by CAA, Entertainment 360, Bold Talent Agency, and Hirsch Wallerstein Hayum.
