Renee Zellweger has been cast as Judy Garland in a new movie that chronicles some of the last months of the star's life.
“Judy” takes place in London in 1968, 30 years after “The Wizard of Oz” made Garland a household name all over the world, and shows Garland’s battles with management as she gets ready to perform in a series of concerts, Variety reported.
Garland is 47 years old during the time period of the movie, and is struggling to fulfill performing obligations while missing her children and beginning to romance Mickey Dean, whom she marries a few months later.
The iconic star would go on to die of a barbiturate overdose in 1969.
The movie will be Zellweger’s first major musical film since she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role as Roxie Hart in the film adaptation of “Chicago.”
“Judy” is expected to include several of Garland’s most popular songs, including “Over the Rainbow” and “The Trolley Song.”
Production on the film is scheduled to begin in February 2018. The role is expected to be complex and challenging, and may attract Oscar attention if the film is well-received, The Independent said.
Zellweger’s latest movie is “Same Kind of Different as Me,” which debuted Oct. 20.
Twitter fans were mostly skeptical of the casting choice.
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