Musical Historical Biopic "The Testament of Ann Lee" Purchased by Searchlight Pictures, Releasing This Year
The film stars Amanda Seyfried as the titular historical figure.
After debuting at the 82nd Annual Venice International Film Festival earlier this month, the new musical historical biopic The Testament of Ann Lee has been purchased by the Disney-owned Searchlight Pictures, who plan to release it theatrically later this year.
UPDATE – October 3rd, 2025:
- Deadline has also given us the theatrical release date for The Testament of Ann Lee, set to hit theaters on Christmas Day, December 25th.
- The film will use a 70 mm cut during its theatrical run.
- Interestingly, another film starring Amanda Seyfried will be released just a few days earlier on December 19th, the Paul Feig-directed thriller The Housemaid, in which Seyfried stars opposite Sydney Sweeney.
Previously Reported – September 30th, 2025:
- According to Deadline, Searchlight Pictures, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company, has acquired the rights to the new musical historical biopic The Testament of Ann Lee from director Mona Fastvold (The World to Come).
- Ann Lee (1736-1784) was the founder of the Shakers, a Christian restorationist religious movement later renamed to the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing after Lee’s death.
- The movie stars Amanda Seyfried (Les Miserables) as Ann Lee, Thomasin McKenzie (Jojo Rabbit) as Mary, Lewis Pullman (Thunderbolts*) as William Lee, Stacy Martin (The Brutalist) as Jane Wardley, and Tim Blake Nelson (Captain America: Brave New World) in an as-yet-unnamed role.
- Notably, Fastvold is married to The Brutalist director Brady Corbet, who co-wrote the screenplay for The Testament of Ann Lee with his wife and acted as a producer on the film.
- Disney acquired Searchlight Pictures (then called Fox Searchlight Pictures) along with the holdings of 21st Century Fox in March of 2019.
What they’re saying:
- Director Mona Fastvold (via Deadline): “Amanda [Seyfried] has a lot of power. She's really strong. She is a wonderful mother. She is a little mad, and so I knew that she could access those things. She could access the kindness, the gentleness, the tenderness, and she could also access this power and this madness."
More from Searchlight Pictures:
- Read Bill Gowsell’s review of Searchlight’s Rental Family starring Brendan Fraser.
- Watch the first trailer for Searchlight’s new stand-up drama Is This Thing On? starring Will Arnett.
- Laughing Place’s Ben Breitbart gives us a review of The Roses starring Benedict Cumberbatch.