Jessica Biel has joined the cast of "Playmates," Searchlight Pictures' upcoming drama about the Playboy Mansion, signing on to play a fictionalized wife of Hugh Hefner in a film marking the directing debut of Lorraine Nicholson.

Biel's casting was first reported Oct. 7 and confirmed across multiple outlets, including PureWow and Laughing Place, both citing Deadline and Variety reporting. She joins a cast that already includes Lily-Rose Depp and Indiana Elle, alongside Bill Pullman, who will play Hefner himself.

The character Biel will portray is not based on any of Hefner's three real-life wives — Mildred Williams, Kimberley Conrad or Crystal Harris — but is instead an invented composite figure, according to Variety's reporting as relayed by Geo News. Biel confirmed the role on Instagram, writing that she was "absolutely thrilled to join this project with this amazing cast."

A Mansion Story From the Inside

"Playmates" is written and directed by Nicholson, the daughter of actor Jack Nicholson, drawing on her own experience growing up around the Playboy Mansion social scene. The film is being produced through Disney's Searchlight Pictures banner, though a release date has not yet been set.

ABSOLUTELY THRILLED TO JOIN THIS PROJECT

The project arrives amid a wave of recent screen projects revisiting Hefner's legacy and the women around him, including a previously announced limited series centered on former Playboy Bunny Holly Madison that has moved slowly through development in past years. Unlike that project, "Playmates" is framed around invented characters rather than a direct biographical account of any specific former Playmate.

Biel, who has largely focused on television in recent years, last drew major attention for her role in "Candy" and "The Sinner." Her casting adds another high-profile name to a project that has quietly built one of the more talked-about ensembles of the fall casting season, alongside Depp's attachment earlier this year.

The casting lands at a moment when Hollywood has increasingly revisited the Playboy era with a more critical eye, following docuseries in recent years that reexamined allegations of exploitation within Hefner's inner circle. It remains unclear how directly "Playmates" will engage with that reckoning, given its framing around fictional rather than real figures. No premiere date or festival slot has been announced.