Zooey Deschanel lands next lead movie role in rom-com about a depressed dog

Zooey Deschanel has landed her next lead movie role in Merv, a rom-com about a depressed dog.

Directed by Jessica Swale, the Amazon MGM Studios film will follow a former couple who discover that their dog is struggling with the effects of their break-up (via Deadline).

"The film watches as an estranged couple learns that the dog they share is suffering from depression following their break-up, awkwardly reconciling over the holidays when they take their dog on a sunny vacation to Florida to lift his spirits," reads the film's official synopsis.

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Merv is written by Linsey Stewart and Dane Clark, with Matt Baer and Roma Downey on board to produce.

Deschanel recently featured in the Trolls World Tour sequel Trolls Band Together, before becoming Rose Byrne's arch-nemesis in the final season of Apple TV+ dramedy Physical.

The actress also starred opposite Casey Affleck in the 2022 biographical drama Dreamin' Wild, which was based on the life of musician brothers Donnie and Joe Emerson.

Last year, the New Girl star told The Wall Street Journal that she'd be up for a reboot of the hit comedy series, despite it ending over five years ago.

Fox

"I definitely had a wonderful time and would be very happy to revisit [the show]," she said. "It kind of depends on the circumstance. I wouldn't want to spend the rest of my life doing reboots."

The sitcom saw Deschanel play the lead role of Jess Day, a quirky school teacher who moves into a Los Angeles loft apartment with best friends Nick (Jake Johnson), Schmidt (Max Greenfield) and Winston (Lamorne Morris).

In January 2022, the actress began hosting the New Girl recap podcast Welcome to Our Show alongside her former co-stars Morris and Hannah Simone.

New Girl is available to watch now on Disney+.