Billie Eilish in Talks to Make Movie Debut With Sarah Polley’s ‘The Bell Jar’

Sylvia Plath’s only novel, The Bell Jar, remains widely discussed and is often touted as a modern classic. The book’s dark themes and semi-autobiographical nature, coupled with the author’s tragic death, have made it difficult to turn into a movie, though. That doesn’t mean it’s never been attempted. The Bell Jar was adapted into an ill-received film in 1979. Panned for softening the book’s dark themes, no one has attempted to adapt it again, until now. The novel will be adapted into a movie once again, and Billie Eilish is allegedly in talks to take on a major role in the flick. Here is everything we know.

Billie Eilish could take on the role of Esther Greenwood in a planned ‘The Bell Jar’ adaptation

Director Sarah Polley will attempt to pull off what seems impossible. She will try to turn The Bell Jar into a mainstream box office success. The director is adapting the 1960s book into a movie and seems to hope some star power will give it a bit of a push. According to several reports, Billie Eilish is in talks to take on her first major motion picture role with the flick.

According to Deadline, Eilish is likely to play Esther Greenwood, the movie’s main character. The flick will be based on the Sylvia Plath novel by the same name. The modern classic follows Esther’s descent into a mental health crisis, despite her seemingly successful life. Esther is based on Plath and her own mental health struggles. If Eilish does sign on to the project, she’ll have big shoes ot fill. Esther Greenwood is considered by many to be the most influential female protagonist of all time.

The singer/songwriter has tried out acting in recent years

While this flick would be Billie Eilish’s first major motion picture acting role, it wouldn’t be her first scripted acting credit ever. The celebrated singer and songwriter took on a role in Swarm, an Amazon Prime Video production back in 2023. In the series, created by Donald Glover and Janine Nabers, Eilish plays Eva, a cult leader.

Although Eilish appeared in only a single episode of the series, her acting debut was widely discussed. She also appeared on SNL and has acted in several music videos over the years. Still, the jump from music videos and a one-off episode of a TV series to a major motion picture would be a big one. Eilish hasn’t commented on the news.