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Sweeney Already Played a Dolly Fan. Now She May Play Dolly.

A year after starring as a Dolly Parton superfan in Lionsgate's Americana, Sydney Sweeney is reportedly among the actresses under consideration to play Parton herself in the estate's posthumous biopic.

By Jude Marlow, Editor Published October 26, 2026 at 2:00 PM PST
Sydney Sweeney as Penny Jo Poplin in Lionsgate's Americana, a waitress who idolizes Dolly Parton
Image: Lionsgate Movies, from the official Americana trailer.

Sydney Sweeney spent last summer playing a waitress who would drop everything for Dolly Parton. Now, one year after that film opened and two months after Parton died at 80, sources tell Radar Online that Sweeney is among the top candidates to play Parton for real in the estate's posthumous biopic.

The connection between the two roles is not a coincidence. In Lionsgate's 2025 neo-western thriller Americana, Sweeney's character Penny Jo Poplin takes her entire worldview from Parton. Her promotional character poster was styled to evoke the cover of Parton's 1974 Jolene album. During Americana press, Sweeney told Entertainment Weekly: "Dolly is definitely her biggest aspirational role model." The film drew on that admiration visually and narratively before the biopic became a real project.

Americana official trailer, Lionsgate Movies. Sweeney plays Penny Jo Poplin, whose diner walls are devoted to Dolly Parton.

Who Is Actually in the Running

Reality Tea reported on October 26 that Sweeney is among the names being considered, citing a source via Radar Online. An earlier Radar Online report, covered by American Songwriter on October 9, named Carrie Underwood as the frontrunner, with Sabrina Carpenter second. Also mentioned across various outlets: Hilary Duff, Kaley Cuoco, Kristin Chenoweth, and Amanda Seyfried, who has publicly said she wants the role. Parton herself, in interviews before her death, previously named Miley Cyrus, Reese Witherspoon, and Scarlett Johansson as actresses she thought could do it.

All of these are insider reports. No studio, director, or official casting has been announced. Parton's estate said project details "will be revealed soon," without a date. The decision rests with her survivors; Parton had no children and her husband Carl Dean died in March 2025.

Dolly is definitely her biggest aspirational role model.
Sydney Sweeney on her Americana character Penny Jo Poplin, to Entertainment Weekly, August 2025

Why This Is a Brand Decision, Not Just a Casting Call

Parton's estate is a commercial operation of significant scale. Forbes estimated her net worth at $450 million at the time of her death. Her active projects include Dollywood in Tennessee, the SongTeller Hotel and Life Of Many Colors Museum that both opened September 29, 2026, and the Broadway musical DOLLY: A True Original Musical, with preview performances beginning December 7. Her holiday special Dolly On The Holly is scheduled for this season.

The biopic sits above all of those in one sense: it is the primary vehicle through which Parton's face, voice, and story will be marketed globally to people who did not grow up with her. Whoever is cast will become the reference version of Dolly Parton for a generation. That is a long-term brand asset, not a one-season entertainment play, and it explains why the estate is taking its time.

Sweeney's case for the role is partly the Americana connection and partly her current commercial footprint. She has active or recent deals with American Eagle, SYRN (her own lingerie brand), Armani Beauty, Miu Miu, and Laneige. She is, at 27, one of the most recognizable faces in commercial entertainment. The question for the estate is whether that recognition would transfer credibly to Parton, who built her brand over six decades in country music and then a half-century of television and film. They are different kinds of fame, which is why the Americana film is such an unusual preview: Sweeney has already stood inside Parton's cultural shadow and shaped her performance around it.

What Comes Next and When

The estate has set December 7, 2026 as the preview opening date for the Broadway show, which is the first major Parton project to carry a confirmed timeline. No similar date has been announced for the biopic. Insider sources quoted in October reporting suggest the casting process is active but not close to a decision.

"Dolly Parton movie" as a search term peaked at 100 on September 26, 2026, one month after her death, per DataForSEO measurement. By October 26 the index had dropped to 38. The biopic conversation is still in its high-interest phase, not yet fading, which means whoever gets the announcement will land it at a moment when audiences are already searching.

Ad Watch News is an independent commentary site with no affiliation with Sydney Sweeney, Dolly Parton's estate, Lionsgate, American Eagle, or any party mentioned in this article. This piece draws on published reporting and original measurement noted above.

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