Shubhabrata Dutta
Octavia Spencer’s debut was in 1996, in a small role in the legal drama movie ‘A Time to Kill.’ It took 15 years, but she finally arrived and earned an Academy Award (for Best Supporting Actress) for ‘The Help’ (2011). Her other movies around that time include ‘Snowpiercer,’ ‘Hidden Figures,’ ‘Get On Up,’ and ‘Fruitvale Station.’ In all the above-mentioned movies, Spencer stands apart, no matter the length of her roles, and lays the blueprint for a promising actor with acute acting skills and a charming onscreen presence. The result was movies like ‘Ma,’ ‘The Shape of Water,’ ‘Luce,’ A Kid Like Jake,’ ‘Instant Family,’ the Netflix series ‘Self Made,’ and the Apple TV+ legal drama series ‘Truth Be Told,’ to name a few. So, if you are a fan of hers, you are surely waiting to learn about her upcoming projects.
1. Tow (June 7, 2025)
Spencer will star alongside Ariana DeBose, Rose Byrne, Dominic Sessa, Simon Rex, Corbin Bernsen, and Demi Lovato in Stephanie Laing’s upcoming film ‘Tow.’ The biographical drama tells the true story of homeless Seattle woman Amanda Ogle, who fought her way out of tow-company hell to reclaim her life and the car that held it all together after receiving a tow bill for $21,634. Ogle is also an executive producer on the film. Jonathan Keasey and Brant Boivin worked together on the original screenplay. The film premiered at the 2025 Tribeca Festival in June and awaits a theatrical release date.
2. Ma 2 (TBA)
Spencer will reprise her role as Sue Ann Ellington in ‘Ma 2,’ the sequel to the psychological thriller movie ‘Ma.’ To be directed by Michael Showalter, the film’s plot has yet to be revealed, and so is the rest of the cast. The first film showed Sue Ann Ellington “getting bloody” with a group of high schoolers. Filming hasn’t yet begun, so there’s still time before a release date is announced.
3. Death of a Salesman (TBA)
Spencer and Jeffrey Wright will star in Chinonye Chukwu’s eponymous feature adaptation of Arthur Miller’s tragic play ‘Death of a Salesman.’ The story follows aging salesman Willy Loman, who grapples with the family relationships he sacrificed for his career. The story deals with the themes of unfaithfulness, honesty, and pursuing the American Dream. Wright will play Willy Loman, and Spencer will play Willy’s wife, Linda Loman. Currently in pre-production, the movie awaits a release date.
4. The Bobby Love Story (TBA)
The upcoming FX drama series ‘The Bobby Love Story’ covers the story of an escaped convict named Bobby Love. Born Walter Miller, Bobby grew up poor with her seven siblings and a single mother in the Jim Crow South. Falling in with the wrong group of kids turned him into a bank robber at a young age. Miller was caught during a bank robbery in North Carolina and sentenced to 25 to 30 years in prison in 1971. However, he escaped the minimum security prison (where he was transferred due to his good behavior) in 1977 and moved to New York. There, he led a double life for 37 years, during which he changed his name to Bobby Love, got married (in 1985), and brought up four children.
Bobby even hid his identity from his wife, Cheryl Love, until the police tracked him down to his Brooklyn home in 2015, re-arrested him, and sent him back to North Carolina. Cheryl wrote letters to President Obama and the governor and testified on her husband’s behalf. In 2016, Bobby Love was finally released from prison. Their story is highlighted by the famous Facebook page ‘Humans of New York.’ Since the story was published, it has received lots of traction from readers worldwide.
Showrunner Shalisha Francis-Feusner has written the story for this one-hour drama series that Spencer will star in and executive produce. From what we can tell, Spencer is likely to play the role of Cheryl Love. Considering her terrific acting prowess, one can rest assured that she will nail the part. She is no stranger to biographical dramas, having already authentically pulled off her roles in ‘Hidden Figures’ and ‘Get on Up.’ An actor is yet to be locked in for Bobby Love’s role. The project is in its pre-production stage, and further updates are awaited.
5. Ride or Die (TBA)
Spencer will star alongside Hannah Waddingham, Bill Nighy, and Ed Skrein in the Prime Video action-adventure mini-series ‘Ride or Die.’ Directed by Peyton Reed and based on a story by Tessa Coates, the 7-episode plot follows two best friends, Debbie and Judith, with the latter leading a double life as a skilled assassin, a life Debbie knows nothing about. However, the truth comes out when a hit goes wrong, and the two women are forced to go on the run with a mysterious enemy hunting them. The 4-part miniseries has Matt Miller as the showrunner. The cast also includes Sylvia Hoeks, Kathryn Drysdale, and Calam Lynch. The project is in its pre-production stage and awaits a release date.
6. The Heart (TBA)
Written and directed by Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, ‘The Heart’ is an action comedy movie that shows two people, Joe and Lucy, who face a huge cash crunch and take up the paid job of transferring a human heart from New York to Florida within 24 hours. However, when they find out that the buyer of the heart is a black-market enthusiast who has skipped the donor list illegally, they decide to take it back to its true recipient. But this isn’t going to be easy as the criminals start to hunt them down.
Among these criminals are the millionaire buyer, his brother, as well as Lucy’s former boss Dawn who is a drug lord. Octavia Spencer and Sam Rockwell will have a “heart” time as Lucy and Joe, respectively, along with Allison Janney, who plays Joe’s former boss, Dawn. The movie has been in its pre-production stage for a long time, and we can only hope the project comes to fruition. Sadly, further updates are awaited.
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