Steven Spielberg to direct a movie based on his childhood

Michelle Williams in Shutter Island
(Image credit: Paramount Pictures)

Steven Spielberg's next project will be a movie about his own childhood, according to Deadline. The movie will be inspired by his experiences growing up in Arizona, which the director has often spoken about as being a big inspiration for his filmmaking. This will be the first time Spielberg has properly explored his early years on screen. 

Michelle Williams is reportedly in talks to play a role loosely inspired by Spielberg's mother, but sources say the character will have a "separate and original voice". The currently untitled movie is set to start shooting in summer 2021, with plans to release it sometime in 2022. It will also mark the first time since 2001 that Spielberg will be involved in writing the screenplay for one of his movies – his last screenwriting venture was for AI: Artificial Intelligence.

Spielberg's last big-screen offering was 2018's Ready Player One, a sci-fi adventure movie based on Ernest Cline's young adult novel of the same name. His next movie is a re-telling of the hit musical West Side Story starring Ansel Elgort and Maddie Ziegler, which is due to hit theaters this December.

Meanwhile, Williams was recently cast as singer Peggy Lee in the biopic Fever, as well as wrapping filming the Venom sequel, Venom: Let There Be Carnage. On the small screen, she won an Emmy for playing Gwen Verdon in the biopic miniseries Fosse/Verdon. 

While we wait for Spielberg's next project to hit the big screen, check out our list of the best Netflix movies to stream right now.

Entertainment Writer

I’m an Entertainment Writer here at 12DOVE, covering everything film and TV-related across the Total Film and SFX sections. I help bring you all the latest news and also the occasional feature too. I’ve previously written for publications like HuffPost and i-D after getting my NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism. 

Read more
The Goonies
After 40 years, a sequel to The Goonies is finally in the works and Steven Spielberg is back to produce
ET The Extraterrestrial
Steven Spielberg recalls the "hard-fought victory" in stopping an E.T. sequel from being made
Link and Epona
A Zelda movie is finally happening, but Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto used to adamantly oppose the idea even "if Steven Spielberg himself" wanted to do it
The Goonies
Ke Huy Quan recalls Steven Spielberg playing a hilarious "big joke" on Harrison Ford when the Indiana Jones star visited The Goonies set
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino is in "no hurry" to make his final movie – and has teased what he's "probably" doing next instead
Millie Bobby Brown in The Electric State
The Russo brothers and The Electric State cast talk the surprisingly emotional core of the Netflix sci-fi movie: "I was definitely very, very, very moved"
Latest in Movies
Scarlett Johansson in Jurassic World Rebirth
Jurassic World Rebirth studio asked Scarlett Johansson to join Instagram, but she refused: "The film will do fine"
A Minecraft Movie
Minecraft movie's popcorn bucket is an explosive, game-accurate continuation of a cinema trend that shows no signs of slowing down
The Running Man
The Running Man reboot is bringing back key aspects of Stephen King's novel to turn it into "the deadliest game of hide and seek"
Indy in Ben Leonberg's haunted house horror Good Boy
Good Boy, a new scary movie told from a dog's POV, is being called "one of the best horror films of the year"
Doctor Doom in Marvel Comics
The Russo brothers say Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars will draw inspiration from multiple comics – which explains how Doctor Doom might fit into the story
John Wick 4
John Wick 5 is still in the works, but Lionsgate isn't confirming Keanu Reeves' return just yet: "We're all on bated breath waiting to find out"
Latest in News
A AMD Ryzen 7 8700G being put into it's socket by a reviewer
AMD's new Ryzen 9 X3D processors launch today, here's the stock I've found so far
GTA 3 Mobile screenshot showing claude running away from police near a casino
The fan-made Dreamcast version of GTA 3 is looking way better in the latest look, introducing tech that "would’ve previously been a slideshow"
Scarlett Johansson in Jurassic World Rebirth
Jurassic World Rebirth studio asked Scarlett Johansson to join Instagram, but she refused: "The film will do fine"
Deltarune
Undertale creator Toby Fox's tomfoolery leaves Deltarune testers thinking an intentional nerf was actually a bug after they "independently" discovered it
Pokemon Go player trying to catch a Croagunk
Pokemon Go developer Niantic has been bought for $3.5 billion, CEO says it'll help its games be "'forever games' that will endure for future generations"
A Minecraft Movie
Minecraft movie's popcorn bucket is an explosive, game-accurate continuation of a cinema trend that shows no signs of slowing down