Angelina Jolie is doing something weird. In a good way.
Most actors who reach her level of "global icon" status usually just coast. They take the easy paycheck. They do the superhero cameo or the legacy sequel where they look at the camera and wink. But if you've been paying attention to any recent movie with Angelina Jolie, you’ve probably noticed she isn’t interested in being a "star" anymore. She wants to be an artist. Honestly, it’s about time.
The transition from the gun-toting Lara Croft to the haunting, drug-addled Maria Callas in her latest biopic Maria (2024/2025) isn't just a career shift. It is a full-scale reinvention.
The Maria Callas Transformation: What Most People Get Wrong
When the news broke that Jolie would be playing the legendary opera singer Maria Callas, people rolled their eyes. The critics were ready. They expected a vanity project. Instead, what we got in Pablo Larraín's film—which closed out his "troubled women" trilogy after Jackie and Spencer—was something deeply uncomfortable and raw.
Jolie didn't just lip-sync. She actually trained for seven months to sing opera.
Now, if you watch the film, you aren't hearing just her. The sound team blended her voice with Callas’s original recordings. It’s a digital fusion. But the physical effort? That’s all her. You can see the tendons in her neck straining and the way she carries her jaw. It’s a "lioness in winter" performance.
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The movie focuses on the last week of Callas’s life in 1977 Paris. She’s addicted to Mandrax. She’s hallucinating. She’s wandering around her palatial apartment asking her valet, Ferruccio (played by Pierfrancesco Favino), to move her piano for the tenth time. It’s a movie about a woman whose identity was her voice, and now that voice is gone.
Why She’s Stopping Traffic with "Couture" in 2026
If you think Maria was a one-off, look at what’s hitting theaters on February 18, 2026.
Her new film Couture, directed by Alice Winocour, is already generating massive buzz after its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. It’s set during Paris Fashion Week—a world Jolie knows well—but it isn't a Devil Wears Prada knockoff. Basically, it’s a story of three women whose lives collide in the chaos of high fashion.
Jolie plays Maxine Walker, an American filmmaker who gets news that basically wrecks her world right as she’s supposed to be working. She ends up forming this "unexpected solidarity" with a young South Sudanese model and a French makeup artist.
It sounds fancy. It looks gorgeous. But under the hood, it’s a story about women "stitching back together" their own narratives. Jolie is leaning into these ensemble pieces where she doesn't have to be the sole focus.
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The Director Chair: "Without Blood" and the Salma Hayek Connection
We also have to talk about her work behind the camera.
Her latest directorial effort, Without Blood, based on the Alessandro Baricco novel, is a tough watch. It’s a "war parable" that doesn't tell you which war it is. It stars Salma Hayek Pinault and Demián Bichir.
The plot is brutal: a young girl hides under floorboards while her family is murdered. Decades later, she tracks down the last survivor of the hit squad. They don't have a shootout. They sit at a cafe and talk for 90 minutes.
- The Vibe: Contemplative, slow, and visually stunning (thanks to cinematographer Seamus McGarvey).
- The Conflict: It’s all internal. Hayek and Bichir have this incredible chemistry of mutual trauma.
- The Jolie Touch: She even involved her sons, Maddox and Pax, in the production.
Some critics at TIFF said the ending felt rushed, and yeah, maybe it does. But the ambition is there. She’s trying to explore the "infinite cycle of revenge" without using the typical Hollywood tropes.
Comparing the "Old" Angelina to the 2026 Version
It’s easy to forget how much of a box-office juggernaut she was. We’re talking over $3.6 billion in career earnings. But look at the shift in the types of roles she’s choosing now versus the early 2000s.
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| The Blockbuster Era | The Art-House Era (2024-2026) |
|---|---|
| Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) - Pure action, big stunts. | Maria (2024) - Psychological biopic, operatic tragedy. |
| Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005) - Glamorous spy rom-com. | Couture (2026) - Interwoven drama about female labor. |
| Salt (2010) - High-octane CIA thriller. | Without Blood (2025) - Philosophical war drama (Director). |
She’s traded the "sexiest woman alive" headlines for "Best Actress" predictions. And frankly, it’s a lot more interesting to watch a middle-aged woman grapple with fading glory than it is to watch a 25-year-old jump off a building.
What’s Next: The 2027-2028 Pipeline
She isn't slowing down. She’s actually getting busier.
There’s Sunny, an action-thriller directed by Eva Sørhaug. Jolie plays a mother/gangster trying to protect her kids from a drug kingpin. It’s described as a "tour de force" of violence and survival. Then there’s The Initiative, an espionage thriller that reunites her with Mr. & Mrs. Smith director Doug Liman.
And for the Disney fans? Maleficent 3 is reportedly slated for 2028.
Actionable Steps for the True Fan
If you want to keep up with this new phase of her career, stop looking at the tabloids. They're still stuck in 2016. Instead, do this:
- Watch the Larraín Trilogy: To understand Maria, you really should watch Jackie (Natalie Portman) and Spencer (Kristen Stewart) first. It gives you the "visual language" Larraín uses for famous, trapped women.
- Read "Without Blood": It’s a tiny book by Alessandro Baricco. You can finish it in two hours. Reading it before seeing Jolie’s film helps you appreciate why she chose to leave out the specific names of countries or wars.
- Check the 2026 Festival Circuit: Keep an eye on the February release for Couture. It’s likely to be a limited release initially before hitting streaming.
Angelina Jolie has basically stopped trying to be the "movie star" we want and started being the artist she needs to be. It’s messy, it’s haughty, and it’s occasionally polarizing—which is exactly why it’s worth watching.