Freestyle Digital Media, under owner Byron Allen, has officially scored the rights to Dear Zoe, an upcoming drama film starring Sadie Sink. News of the new film comes just after the conclusion of Stranger Things season 4, where Sink portrayed Max Mayfield; Theo Rossi, Jessica Capshaw, Justin Bartha, Vivien Lyra Blair, and Kweku Collins will also star.
The upcoming film adaptation of Dear Zoe is based on a novel of the same name, written by Phillip Beard and first published in 2006. The novel follows Tess DeNunzio as she and the rest of her family – her mother Elly, stepfather David, and little sister Emily – deal with the untimely death of her little sister Zoe after a tragic hit-and-run accident. Tessa, in particular, is struggling with the flood of emotions overtaking her and her family, and in the wake of the accident, she sets out to find her biological father, Nick, who Deadline describes as “a lovable slacker from the wrong side of the tracks” and makes a new friend in Jimmy, “the charming juvenile delinquent next door.” Together, Nick and Jimmy help Tessa figure out her emotions and begin to write her own story, which the book describes as “part love letter, part coming-of-age story, part confession”.
Sadie Sink is slated to appear in Dear Zoe as Tess DeNunzio herself. Jessica Capshaw (Grey’s Anatomy) will play her mother, Elly Dununzio, with Justin Bartha (National Treasure) appearing as her stepfather Dan and Vivien Lyra Blair (Obi-Wan Kenobi) starring as her little sister Emily. Theo Rossi (Luke Cage) will play Tessa’s father, Nick, and rapper and songwriter Kweku Collins makes his film debut as Tessa’s neighbor and love interest, Jimmy.
More on Sadie Sink and the crew of ‘Dear Zoe’
Sadie Sink has most recently appeared in Stranger Things 4: Volume 2, which was released on July 1st, 2022. Sink’s character of Max Mayfield first appeared in season 2 of the show as a mysterious, somewhat-edgy newcomer to the core group of the show, already made up of Dustin, Lucas, Will, Mike, and Eleven. Though her Stranger Things credit is Sadie Sink’s best-known role, some of her other credits include appearing in All Too Well: The Short Film by Taylor Swift, Fear Street parts one, two, and three, and American Odyssey.
Dear Zoe will be directed by Gren Wells (A Little Bit of Heaven) and written by Marc Lhormer (Bottle Shock) and Melissa Martin. The film will be produced by Marc and Brenda Lhormer for Zin Haze Productions (Bottle Shock, The Loaner). Regarding the film, Zin Haze’s Brenda Lhormer told Deadline:
Dear Zoe has been acquired by Freestyle Digital Media, the studio behind Bachelors (2015) and Bad Cupid (2021). Bill Vergos, Freestyle Digital Media’s Head of Digital Film Distribution, called Dear Zoe a “universal story of loss and healing” and explained the acquisition of the film by saying, “You get to feel the full range of emotions as with all great films, and that’s how we knew we wanted to be part of it.”
Dear Zoe is currently scheduled for release later this year. Further information on the film, including a specified release date, is currently unknown.
