Noah Baumbach's Jay Kelly gets a release in coming November

Jay Kelly is an upcoming Netflix movie directed by Noah Baumbach, marking the acclaimed filmmaker's fourth collaboration with the streaming platform. Baumbach co-wrote the script with Emily Mortimer, who is also part of the movie's ensemble cast.

On May 6, 2025, Netflix officially announced that Jay Kelly will hit theaters on November 14, 2025, before its debut on streaming on December 5, 2025. Meanwhile, George Clooney will appear as the titular character in the movie.

Baumbach also produced the film, along with Amy Pascal and David Heyman producing through their respective Pascal Pictures and Heyday Films labels. Further, Linus Sandgren (La La Land, Babylon) is the director of photography.

---

Netflix dropped a first-look image of George Clooney in Jay Kelly

While announcing the release date, Netflix also unveiled a first-look still of George Clooney as the titular character in Jay Kelly. In the image, donning a white suit, Clooney can be seen smiling while looking down, with a huge billboard featuring him in the background.

While specific plot details are not available at the moment, the streamer described the movie as "a heartbreaking comedy," which centers on Jay Kelly, who is well-known among the masses but struggles with an identity crisis. The logline reads:

"Everybody knows Jay Kelly, but Jay Kelly doesn't know himself."

Noah Baumbach has previously worked on three movies for Netflix. The first two included the 2017 dysfunctional family drama The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) and the 2019 drama Marriage Story, which explored a couple's divorce.

Marriage Story earned six Academy Award nominations, with Laura Dern winning for Best Supporting Actress. After the film's success, Baumbach signed a deal with Netflix in 2021. The third film he made for the streamer was the absurdist comedy-drama White Noise, an adaptation of Don DeLillo’s novel, released in 2022.

---

Who stars in the upcoming Noah Baumbach feature?

Besides George Clooney, several other popular actors are part of the film's ensemble cast. Adam Sandler (Happy Gilmore 2, Murder Mystery) and Laura Dern (Trial by Fire, Jurassic Park), who previously collaborated with Noah Baumbach on The Meyerowitz Stories and Marriage Story, respectively, will also star in the upcoming film.

The film's ensemble cast also includes acclaimed actors Billy Crudup, Riley Keough, Jim Broadbent, Stacy Keach, and Grace Edwards. Other notable names joining the lineup are Patrick Wilson, Eve Hewson, Lenny Henry, and Josh Hamilton, among others. Furthermore, Baumbach’s longtime collaborator and wife, Greta Gerwig (Frances Ha, Barbie), will also appear in the film.

---

Noah Baumbach previously reflected on his eight-year career gap

Noah Baumbach (Image via Getty)

According to a Variety article published on October 7, 2022, when asked about the eight-year gap between his movies Mr. Jealousy (1997) and The Squid and the Whale (2005) at the BFI London Film Festival, Noah Baumbach said it was "by accident" and not intentional.

He further added:

"We look at [that career gap] now [and] we say, like, I really grew up and I came into my own and it had a happy ending. But it was, at the time, quite painful. I really felt like I had sort of started and then stopped and I felt like in some ways my dream had come true and now maybe it wasn’t going to happen. That was hard."

Baumbach also said that he wrote for money in those eight years and made more than he did while making movies.

---

Jay Kelly will be in theaters on November 14, 2025.