Riverdale star KJ Apa has signed on to play the lead in the new biopic Jimmy, about Rear Window and It’s a Wonderful Life star Jimmy Stewart, production company Burns & Co. Productions announced.

Apa, who will next star in the upcoming Amazon movie The Map That Leads to You with Madelyn Cline, joins a cast that includes Jason Alexander as Louis B. Mayer, Max Casella as Frank Capra, Sarah Drew as Hedda Hopper, Julian Works as Second Lieutenant Martinez, and Jen Lilley as Gloria Stewart.

Principal photography is scheduled to begin in West Cork, Ireland, on September 1, with support
from the Screen Ireland Nationwide Fund. The U.S. theatrical release is set for November 2026, around the time It’s a Wonderful Life begins its annual near-constant rotation on cable TV.“I have always been a huge James Stewart fan and feel so honored I get to bring his story to
life,” Apa said in a statement. “As someone from New Zealand, I’ve long admired that generation of American men who stood for patriotism, integrity, and a deep sense of duty. It is important to me to give
back to a country that has given me so much, and what better way to do that than by honoring a
man who served it with great honor.”Kelly Stewart-Harcourt, executive producer of Jimmy and Stewart’s daughter, added: “My family and I are delighted and excited that KJ Apa has agreed to play my father in this film. In addition to his considerable acting skills, KJ’s enthusiasm for the project will only add to the energy and depth he will bring to the role.”

KJ Apa on Playing Jimmy Stewart in Jimmy

Jimmy will focus on a transformative period in Stewart’s life, when he went from winning the Academy
Award for Best Actor in Philadelphia Story to enlisting and becoming a combat pilot in the U.S. Army Air Corps at the start of World War II. Stewart flew 20 missions over Europe, rising to the rank of colonel.

Also Read: 12 Films of the 1940s That Are Still a Pleasure to Watch, Including It’s a Wonderful Life

But he returned from the war broken and disheartened — only to land the role that would become perhaps his most famous, playing the self-destructive George Bailey in Capra’s soon-to-be-classic It’s a Wonderful Life.

“Jimmy Stewart is universally beloved as an actor. He truly embodied the everyman,” said director and producer Aaron Burns. “We all know him from It’s A Wonderful Life, but as I discovered his real-life story as a World War II military hero, I realized Jimmy’s life makes for an amazing movie. I’m truly honored that Kelly Stewart-Harcourt and the Stewart family have entrusted Burns & Co. to share Jimmy with the world, and I’m excited to see KJ Apa and the rest of our amazing cast bring this story to life.”

In addition to Burns, Justin Strawhand, who wrote the script, will be producing alongside David
Cook, Angela Galgani Sullivan, and John Norton of Redted Media.

Besides Kelly Stewart-Harcourt, the executive producers include former Sony executive Andre
Caraco, Jack McClintock, Bob Gordon, Sam Juergens, Amy K. Mitchell, Edwina Forkin, Kip
Konwiser, Walter Krumm III, F Joseph Krumm, Carolyn & Scott White, and Brian Williams.KJ Apa is repped by UTA, Luber Roklin Entertainment, Mandy Jacobsen, Red 11 Management,
and Jackoway Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris Bernstein Trattner Auerbach
Hynick Jaime LeVine Sample & Klein.

Jason Alexander is repped by Innovative Artists Entertainment, Yumkas Entertainment; attorneys are Gendler, Kelly & Cunningham. Max Casella is repped by Innovative Artists & Ellipsis Entertainment Group.

Sarah Drew is represented by Innovative Artists, Vault Entertainment, and Yorn Levine. Julian Works is repped by Joe S. Montifiore at Rafterman Media, Jennifer Allen at Viewpoint, and attorney Jeff
Bernstein at Jackoway Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris Bernstein Trattner
Auerbach Hynick Jamie Levine Sample & Klein.

Jen Lilley is managed by Mitch Clem Management and repped by Artists & Representatives; attorney is Meyer & Downs. Burns & Co. is represented by Sam Curphey, Esq.

Main image: KJ Apa, courtesy of Burns & Co./Jimmy Stewart in It’s a Wonderful Life, Paramount Pictures

Editor’s Note: Corrects typo.