Shubhabrata Dutta
For those who do not know, Octavia Spencer has a role in ‘Spider-Man’ (2002). She is the lady at the counter of the wrestling tournament that Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parker takes part in to make some money after he is bitten by the radioactive spider. However, her 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 her fan, you are surely waiting to find out about her upcoming projects.
The Smurfs Movie (2025)
Spencer has joined the talented cast of the upcoming animated musical comedy movie ‘The Smurfs Movie.’ Chris Miller is helming the movie based on the Peyo characters, with Matt Landon as the co-director. Pam Brady has written the story that is yet undisclosed. Rihanna has penned the original songs and also stars alongside Spencer, Kurt Russell, John Goodman, Nick Offerman, JP Karliak, Natasha Lyonne, Daniel Levy, Nick Kroll, Amy Sedaris, James Corden, Sandra Oh, Hannah Waddingham, Alex Winter, Xolo Maridueña, and Billie Lourd. The movie is in its pre-production stage and will be released in theaters on July 18, 2025.
2. Tow (TBA)
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, Brant Boivin, and Annie Weisman worked together on the original screenplay. The film is in the post-production stage and awaits a release date.
3. Nobody Nothing Nowhere (TBA)
Octavia Spencer is set to appear in ‘Nobody Nothing Nowhere,’ a sci-fi comedy film that serves as a different POV of machines becoming aware. It follows Ruth, who is a Non-People, which stands for one of the human-looking beings. Non-People are built for the sole purpose of serving as companions to Dave, the last person on planet Earth, and helping create a realistic world for him. But things start getting complicated when Ruth becomes self-aware and demands a life of her own. While in most movies, the outcome is dangerous for humans, this movie is a sci-fi comedy. As reported by Deadline, Nat McCormick of The Exchange (one of the production houses for the movie) stated that the movie is “not only…a strong commercial project with a hilarious script, but the film also subtly tackles social issues in a mind-boggling cinematic universe.”
Written and directed by Alex Fischer and Rachel Wolther, ‘Nobody Nothing Nowhere’ stars Octavia Spencer, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Lucy Liu in yet-undisclosed roles. In all probability, Levitt plays Dave, but we have yet to find out who between Spencer and Liu plays Ruth. The movie is in its pre-production stage, so there is still time before we are provided with further updates.
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. Untitled Series from Skydance Television with Octavia Spencer and Hannah Waddingham (TBA)
Spencer and Hannah Waddingham will star in and executive produce the upcoming yet-untitled Skydance Television comedy series from creator Tessa Coates. The 8-episode series follows best friends Debbie (Spencer) and Judith (Waddingham), who know everything about each other, or so they think. Unbeknownst to Debbie, Judith lives a double life as a trained assassin. When a hit goes wrong, the besties are forced to go on the run together and work hard to repair their broken friendship while being targeted by a mysterious enemy who wants them dead. Currently in pre-production, the series will drop on Prime Video, and a release date is awaited.
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.
7. My Happy Place (TBA)
Spencer is one of the hosts of CNN’s upcoming six-episode travel series, which will premiere in 2025. In each episode, the hosts will guide the viewers on a journey to locations with personal significance, offering an intimate glimpse into the stories and memories that shaped their lives. The other hosts are Alan Cumming, Taraji P. Henson, Simu Liu, Billy Porter, and Questlove. We are yet to get a release window for ‘My Happy Place.’
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