When Priyanka Chopra Jonas was not enjoying becoming used to the new quarantine lifestyle with her pop star husband, Nick Jonas, she was spending much of her 2020 time under a whole different level of isolation on the German set of a big-budget blockbuster. Of course, the talented beauty’s upcoming role in the highly anticipated sequel, The Matrix 4, is far from the only thing her biggest fans have to look forward to - not just including her work in the Indian Film Industry (which she prefers over “Bollywood”).
The Indian-born actress, producer, author, and philanthropist first acquired international fame as 2000’s Miss World when she was 18, before becoming a household name among American audiences on the ABC drama Quantico, as an FBI agent accused of being a terrorist. Since then, Priyanka Chopra Jonas has found increased success both in front of and behind the camera (sometimes on the same project) for more films and TV shows made in the United States, such as 2017’s Baywatch, and in her native country, such as the comical crime thriller The White Tiger - which was distributed by Netflix in January 2021.
Well, there is plenty more where that came from for Mrs. Nick Jonas, as a performer and producer, too. The following is a quick, convenient guide to what you can expect to see Priyanka Chopra Jonas put her name on in the near future, starting with the next chapter in a franchise that changed the future of cinema forever.
The Matrix 4 (Post-Production)
There is not much we can report regarding the plot of director Lana Wachowski’s next installment of the groundbreaking dystopian sci-fi action series she created with her sister, Lilly, in 1999. All we can most reliably infer is that it will set out to answer any unsolved questions about The Matrix: an oppressive computer program running what the human race mistakenly perceives as reality.
Priyanka Chopra Jonas has also been relatively tight-lipped about the character she plays in the sequel (other than her being “unexpected”) alongside returning cast members Keanu Reeves as Neo, Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity, and Jada Pinkett Smith as Niobe. Fellow newcomers Neil Patrick Harris and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II also star in roles that still remain unnamed as well. All will be revealed when The Matrix 4 hits theaters on its currently scheduled release date of December 22, 2021.
Text For You (Post-Production)
A project now in post-production and starring Priyanka Chopra Jonas that we actually can speak freely about is this English-language remake of a German romantic comedy from 2016 called SMS für Dich. Based on a novel by Sofia Cramer (who also wrote the screenplay), Text for You stars Chopra Jonas as a woman who tries to quell her grief by sending a text message to her recently deceased fiancé, only to discover that his cell phone number has been reassigned to another man (Scottish Outlander star Sam Heughan) with whom she begins to develop an unexpectedly close connection.
James C. Strouse, an acclaimed filmmaker known for New York, I Love You directs Text for You, which will also star Québécoise singing icon Celine Dion in her acting debut. The film does not currently have a theatrical release date set.
Sheela (Pre-Production)
Priyanka Chopra Jonas is both leading the cast and producing this biopic, which will chronicle the shocking story of Sheela Ambalal Patel. Of course, most people would more likely know her as Ma Anand Sheela - the name she went by while she served as a leader and the main spokesperson for the Rajneesh movement, which served as the focus for the 2018 docuseries Wild Wild Country on Netflix.
Sheela will focus primarily on Patel’s relationship with the cult’s head, Osho, and her participation in the attempted bioterror attack on Oregon locals against their practices in the mid-1980s. The historical drama will be helmed by Barry Levinson, the Academy Award-winning director of Rain Man, and is set to be distributed by Amazon Studios at an unconfirmed date.
Citadel (Pre-Production)
Much like the aforementioned The Matrix 4, the basis of this upcoming miniseries has largely been kept under wraps. The most telling information about the plot so far has come from executive producers Joe and Anthony Russo, who described it as something along the lines of a globe-spanning espionage drama in 2019.
Citadel is yet another project backed by Amazon Studios that stars Priyanka Chopra Jonas, along with Game of Thrones veteran Richard Madden, Australian actress Ashleigh Cummings, and Roland Møller - a Danish actor known for starring opposite Dwayne Johnson in Skyscraper and Liam Neeson in The Commuter. The MCU golden boys behind Avengers: Endgame and Tom Holland’s recent Apple TV+ original drama, Cherry, are also directing this action-packed limited series which is now still in its earlier stages of production.
Cowboy Ninja Viking (Announced)
Easily the most unusual sounding title on Priyanka Chopra Jonas’ resume of upcoming credits is this adaptation of writer A.J. Lieberman and illustrator Riley Rossmo’s very unusual graphic novel from Image Comics. The story follows a man named Duncan, whose multiple personalities have allowed him to be imbued with the skills of a western outlaw, an expert martial artist, and a medieval pillager. When other Dissociative Identity Disorder patients in the same program as him go rogue, it is up to him to use his triple threat of badass abilities to stop them.
In 2018, Priyanka Chopra Jonas was cast as the female lead of Cowboy Ninja Viking, opposite Chris Pratt in the hero role, until Universal indefinitely shelved the film in August of that year amid concerns over scheduling and the script. For now, the film that almost became TV director Michelle MacLaren’s feature-length debut (before helming Jennifer Aniston’s upcoming Hail Mary) is simply labeled as “announced.”
Untitled Indian Wedding Project (In Development)
Announced in April 2019 was the partnership of Priyanka Chopra Jonas and six-time Emmy-nominated former Office star Mindy Kaling on a new film which the duo pitched around before setting a deal with Universal. The currently untitled project tells the story of the hijinks that ensue during a culture clash at an Indian wedding which, according to Deadline, has been described as Crazy Rich Asians meets My Big Fat Greek Wedding.
Priyanka Chopra Jonas will star in the movie alongside Mindy Kaling, who is also penning the script with Dan Goor, known best as the creator of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and potentially make it her feature-length directorial debut. The romantic comedy is still in development with no schedule for production or release set.
Untitled Sangeet Project (In Development)
Speaking of romance, Priyanka Chopra Jonas is also teaming up with her partner in life, Nick Jonas, on a new project that is not exactly the same, but somewhat similar to the music videos the husband and wife have starred in together. This time, the concept is an unscripted series inspired by Sangeet, which translates to “sung together” from Sanskrit and is a form of ceremonial celebration involving song and dance that is traditionally demonstrated the night before an Indian wedding.
Priyanka Chopra Jonas personally announced that she and Nick Jonas were producing the still-untitled reality show together through an Instagram photo posted on the couple’s one-year wedding anniversary. This came following news that Amazon Studios proudly gave the show the green light in late 2019.
Unfinished: A Memoir (Book)
While fans of Priyanka Chopra Jonas wait for this Amazon Prime Video original series inspired by a very important cultural touchstone in her life (among her many other projects), they can also gain ever deeper insight into her life by checking out her recent, best-selling memoir. Released on February 9, 2021, and published by Ballantine Books, Unfinished is a raw and revealing personal account of the actress’ journey to self-discovery from her childhood in India, her time spent in the United States during her teens, and her return to her home country before winning the international beauty pageant that made her a star. The book is funny, bold, shocking, traumatic, and an overall fascinating read that is must for anyone who would consider themself a fan of Chopra Jonas.
Much like her life behind the scenes (from writing hit memoirs, volunteering her time to help those in need, and creating art with her artist husband), the entertainment that Priyanka Chopra Jonas puts her own stamp on, either as a producer or a performer, is never limited to one type of thing. After kicking butt in a blockbuster sci-fi thriller sequel, she will star opposite Celine Dion in a heartwarming romantic comedy before playing the lead in a biopic about a notorious cult leader - and that is merely the tip of the iceberg of what sort of variety is in store for her career next. Earlier we mentioned that she described her character in The Matrix as someone “unexpected,” and I do not believe that Lana Wachowski could have found a better actress to fit that description.
