‘Maria’ starring Angelina Jolie as opera legend to stream on OTT soon

Netflix has acquired the U.S. distribution rights for Maria, a biographical film directed by Pablo Larraín, which stars Angelina Jolie as the iconic opera singer Maria Callas. The film, which portrays the later years of Callas's life, is Larraín’s latest project and is being hailed as his most personal work to date.
Larraín expressed his excitement about collaborating with Netflix again, emphasizing the deep connection he feels to this film. He described Maria as a creative and psychological exploration of Maria Callas, focusing on a period in her life when she decided to sing for herself rather than for audiences. The director shared that he felt honored to bring this story to life and share it with viewers around the world, much like Callas shared her voice with the world during her career.
The film was highly sought after, with Netflix winning a bidding war against at least one other major distributor just before the Venice Film Festival. Netflix plans to position the film prominently during the upcoming awards season, reflecting the confidence they have in its potential. Maria is the third film in Larraín’s trilogy centered around influential female figures, following Spencer (which starred Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana) and Jackie (with Natalie Portman as Jackie Kennedy Onassis). Both of these films earned Best Actress nominations for their leads, setting high expectations for Jolie’s performance in Maria.
Maria is based on real events and focuses on the last days of Callas’s life in 1970s Paris. Alongside Jolie, the cast includes Kodi Smit-McPhee, Alba Rohrwacher, Pierfrancesco Favino, and Valeria Golino. The film’s costumes, which are inspired by the actual garments worn by Callas, include vintage fur items from designer Massimo Cantini Parrini’s archive collection.
When Larraín announced Jolie’s casting two years ago, he described the opportunity as a merging of his two greatest passions: cinema and opera. He praised Jolie as a courageous and curious artist, expressing his excitement about working with her on this project.
The screenplay for Maria was written by Steven Knight, an Oscar nominee known for his work on Peaky Blinders and Larraín’s previous film Spencer. Edward Lachman, who has worked on films like Carol and El Conde, served as the cinematographer for the project.
The film is produced by Juan de Dios Larraín, Lorenzo Mieli, and Jonas Dornbach, with production companies including The Apartment (a Fremantle Company), Fabula, and Komplizen & Fremantle involved in bringing the film to life.
Andrea Scrosati from Fremantle expressed delight that Maria had found its U.S. home at Netflix. He praised Larraín’s exceptional filmmaking and Jolie’s incredible performance, stating that Netflix would provide the film with the best possible support. Scrosati also thanked Glen Basner and his team at FilmNation for leading the successful sale of the film’s U.S. distribution rights.