According to Deadline, a cinematic biopic on the life of Martin Luther King Jr. is in the works. Universal Pictures will be driving the movie and the studio has put it on the table to utilize Jonathan Eig’s critically acclaimed biography King: A Life for the cinematic adaptation. Better yet, Chris Rock, who has also starred in George C. Wolfe’s Rustin is in final talks to direct and produce the biopic, giving him a chance to square up the Oscar slap the right way. Steven Spielberg is going to be the executive producer.
Martin Luther King Jr. was a prominent American civil rights leader known for his advocacy of nonviolence and his role in the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. In 1964, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his commitment to nonviolent resistance in the struggle against racism. This strong backdrop is going to be a solid foundation for the biopic — especially after this year’s powerful reception of Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan-directed biopic that chronicles the life and career of J. Robert Oppenheimer, a theoretical physicist known as the father of the atomic bomb.
Previously, there has been an Ava DuVernay-directed historical film called Selma, which focuses on the 1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. However, a biopic detailing the complete life and journey of the civil rights leader is yet to be made and it seems like the perfect time for the studios to tap in.
The Biopic Will Be a Step Up for Chris Rock
With movies like Top Five, Head of State, and I Think I Love My Wife under his belt, it’s not new for Rock to wear the director’s hat but it’s certainly a step up. In Rustin, the movie featuring Colman Domingo in the title role, Rock played the role of real-life Roy Wilkins, who actually made the march possible where Dr. King made his iconic “I have a dream,” speech. Well, it seems that it is time for the four-time Emmy Award winner and three-time Grammy Award winner to take the reins for arguably the most important project of his life.
via Collider