The “Book Club” star will lead the film as a retired lawyer with a penchant for writing letters.

Jane Fonda to star in movie adaptation of Virginia Evans’ best-seller The Correspondent

The "Book Club" star will lead the film as a retired lawyer with a penchant for writing letters.

By Sharareh Drury

March 18, 2026 5:16 p.m. ET

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Jesse Grant/Variety via Getty

Jane Fonda will portray the power of the written word in her next film.

The *Book Club** *star has landed the titular starring role in *The Correspondent*, a screen adaptation of Virginia Evans' *New York Times* best-seller.

Evans' debut novel centers on the written correspondence of retired lawyer Sybil Van Antwerp with friends, family, literary idols, and one person to whom she writes but never sends the letter. Sybil's dispatches aid her as she reconstructs her life after trauma and loss, all the while shedding light on her complex personality. Ultimately, a letter from someone in her past forces her to reopen one of the most painful chapters in her life.

Jane Fonda, 'The Correspondent' by Virginia Evans.

Daniele Venturelli/WireImage; Crown

Cat Vasko, who was named one of *Variety*'s 10 screenwriters to watch in 2019, will write the script and executive produce alongside Evans. Fonda will produce alongside Todd Lieberman, whose Hidden Pictures was behind another recent page-to-screen adaptation, *The Housemaid**.*

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Two-time Oscar winner Fonda could most recently be seen in *This Is Me... Now*, *Book Club: The Next Chapter*, *80 for Brady*, and her seven-season run in the Emmy-nominated Netflix series *Grace and Frankie*.

Speaking with * *in 2020 about younger fans — including Miley Cyrus — enjoying the show, Fonda said, "I think it's partly that they love seeing people their grandparents' age being naughty. And then they love to watch it with their grandparents, too."**

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