Michelle Williams is in talks to star as the iconic rock star Janis Joplin in “Martha Marcy May Marlene” helmer Sean Durkin’s biopic “Janis.”

    Peter Newman is producing the pic with Durkin’s partners at Borderline Films, along with Uncommon Productions, Interal, and Seven Hills Productions. Williams’ reps could not be reached for comment.

    Joplin was a rock-and-roll* icon in the 1960s who rose to fame with Big Brother and the Holding Company before dying of a drug overdose in 1970 at age 27. Newman has long held rights to a good portion of Joplin’s catalog and a large collection of written materials, which will be used to create a depiction* of the last six months of her life.

    Williams is expected to be in the Oscar race with her performance in “Manchester by the Sea,” which Amazon opens next month. She also has Kelly Reichardt’s “Certain Women” opening next Friday and was recently nominated for a Tony for her play “Blackbird.”

    She is currently in rehearsals* for “The Greatest Showman on Earth,” which starts filming next month. She is repped by WME, Brillstein Entertainment, and Bloom Hergott. (SD-Agencies)