EXCLUSIVE: Following her breakout role in Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Maya Erskine is looking to move behind the camera for her next project as Deadline is hearing she is set to make her directing debut on an Untitled A24 Teen Comedy from writer Morgan Lehmann.
Fruit Tree’s Emma Stone, Dave McCary and Ali Herting are producing along with Ley Line Entertainment’s Tim Headington and Theresa Steele Page. Ley Line Entertainment is co-financing the film.
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While plot details are being kept under wraps, the project is a high priority at A24 after the studio and Fruit Tree landed the spec following a heated bidding war. Comedies usually need a lot of talent to garner attention from major studios, but this spec was so impressive without any talent that it caught the eye of a number of suitors before A24 and Fruit Tree made the winning bid.
Insiders say even though Erskine had not helmed a feature film yet, her pitch blew away the studio and producers, leading to her first big directing job.
Erskine previously has written and directed episodes of the Emmy-nominated Hulu show Pen15.
RELATED: ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’: Maya Erskine To EP Season 2 Alongside Donald Glover; Stars Are Joined By Talia Ryder & Mark Eydelshteyn As Production Starts In LA
On the acting side, she is known for her breakout role in the Amazon MGM Studios series Mr. & Mrs. Smith. The studio recently announced Erskine and her co-star Donald Glover would be reprising their roles for Season 2, which is currently in production after a delay last year.
She is repped by WME, Mosaic and Hansen Jacobsen Teller.