Rebel Wilson isn’t letting legal troubles hold her back from stepping back into the director’s chair.
The Pitch Perfect and Senior Year star, 45, has begun production on her second feature film as director, Girl Group, a musical comedy that she also wrote and stars in. The project, currently filming in the United Kingdom, marks a major career move for Wilson, though her first directorial outing, The Deb, remains mired in ongoing legal disputes that have stalled its public release.
Wilson announced the new project on Instagram earlier this month, sharing behind-the-scenes photos from the Girl Group set. In one post dated Sept. 7, she wrote: “Directing with this great team is easy!” alongside a cast photo that includes herself, WandaVision star Randall Park, and British actress Sheridan Smith.
According to Deadline, Girl Group follows a washed-up pop star (played by Wilson) who is booted from her girl group’s reunion tour and sentenced to court-ordered community service. Her chance at redemption comes in the form of a group of misfit teen girls, whom she begins coaching for a major record label audition. But in typical Wilson fashion, the tone blends slapstick with heart, as the character confronts her own toxic past in the music industry, and her own penchant for self-sabotage.
The project has been quietly in development for years. When it was first reported in 2019, the premise focused on a K-pop competition and a former British girl band member mentoring a Korean-American student and her friends. The current version of the story has evolved, but its themes of pop stardom, redemption, and female empowerment remain.
A Second Film in the Shadow of the First
While Wilson is clearly leaning into her creative evolution as a writer-director, she hasn’t shied away from acknowledging the shadow cast by The Deb, her first film behind the camera.
That project, a queer-inclusive Aussie musical centered around a debutante ball in the Outback, premiered at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival to a warm reception but has since become the subject of a highly publicized legal battle. Wilson, who developed the film with actress Charlotte MacInnes and producers Amanda Ghost, Gregor Cameron, and Vince Holden, is now involved in multiple lawsuits related to the production.
The original suit, filed by the producers in July 2024, accused Wilson of seeking credit for work she did not contribute to, particularly regarding the film’s original music. Wilson fired back on Instagram, writing at the time, “It’s not defamation if it’s the TRUTH… Let our cool movie play at Toronto and stop messing about with a rubbish defamation suit against me!”
She later countersued, alleging that the producers misappropriated nearly AUD $900,000 from the film’s budget, coerced her into signing unfavorable agreements, and that Ghost engaged in behavior that constituted sexual harassment toward lead actress Charlotte MacInnes—allegations MacInnes has since denied.
In July 2025, the situation escalated further when AI Film, the company owned by the producers, filed another lawsuit in Australia. This time, they accused Wilson of deliberately sabotaging the film’s release and causing “financial and reputational damage.”
In response, Wilson posted a full musical number from The Deb to Instagram, captioning the clip with another sharp message: “Let the movie speak for itself.”
A Complicated but Empowered Career Move
Amid the controversy, Wilson appears to be focusing her energy on what she does best: telling stories about flawed but fabulous women—and doing so with humor, heart, and plenty of musical numbers.
“I’m proud for fighting for [The Deb] to happen,” Wilson wrote in a Sept. 7 Instagram post, referencing her directorial debut. “But in these troubled times, we all need uplifting funny empowering movies, so I hope the powers that be let this movie come out!”
