In February 2019, it was announced Frances McDormand, David Strathairn, Linda May, and Charlene Swankie had joined the cast of the film, with Chloé Zhao directing from a screenplay she wrote based on the book Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century by Jessica Bruder. Frances McDormand, Peter Spears, Mollye Asher, Dan Janvey, and Zhao will produce the film, while Searchlight Pictures will distribute.[3][4]