Paige Bueckers’ off-season is heating up—and we’re not just talking about the WNBA superstar’s upcoming debut in Unrivaled, the player-owned three-on-three league based in Miami.
On October 29, Deadline reported that the 2025 WNBA Rookie of the Year is set to star in Jess & Pearl, a sports movie developed by Apple Original Films. Though Apple did not comment on the report, Deadline’s sources claim the project is “set in the world of women’s basketball” and based off an original idea by Scandal writer and producer Zahir McGhee. Bueckers will reportedly serve as an executive producer as well.
Here’s everything we know about Paige Bueckers’ upcoming Hollywood debut.
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What is Jess & Pearl?
So far, all we have is this brief description provided by Deadline: “Set in the world of women’s basketball, the film follows two phenoms who forge an extraordinary bond as teammates until fame, competition, and the ruthless business of college athletics threaten to turn their friendship into an epic rivalry.”
When is Jess & Pearl coming out?
So far, no release date has been set or announced.
Who is involved behind-the-scenes?
UConn alum and Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers will reportedly serve as an executive producer, while David Bernad (The White Lotus) has reportedly signed on to produce the project through his company, Middle Child Pictures. Lindsay Kagawa Colas, who recently served as executive producer on a documentary about WNBA legend Sue Bird, is allegedly on board to produce alongside producer Tommy Alter.
Who else is in the cast?
So far, no other names have been released, but I’m personally pulling for Bueckers’ fellow WNBA superstar Angel Reese, who recently made her own feature film debut in A House of Dynamite on Netflix. You know, right before she made her Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show runway debut as the first pro-athlete Victoria’s Secret Angel.
Though she only had a small role in the film, Reese told People she plans to continue acting and even hire an acting coach. “I was talking to Common—he’s overseas right now shooting season 2 of Silo—and he was telling me, ‘You got to hire an acting coach,” she said at A House of Dynamite’s New York Film Festival premiere on September 28. “I model already, so it’s like adding to the résumé. I’m young right now, so I’m going to do it while I’m young.”
