Josh Gad Directing Chris Farley Biopic Starring Paul Walter Hauser!!

The story of Saturday Night Live is already coming to the big screen soon with SNL 1975, and now a new project is in the works that will tell the tale of one of the show’s biggest stars. A biopic of Chris Farley, the famed SNL comedian who became an icon of 1990s film and television, is in development, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Josh Gad is in talks to direct the project, which will star Paul Walter Hauser in the role of Farley.

The film will tell the tragic story of Farley, who joined SNL in 1990 and quickly became a rising star. With his characters such as the Lunch Lady, the Chippendales dancer, and motivational speaker Matt Foley, Farley quickly became the show’s marquee star alongside other SNL players of the day like Adam Sandler, Chris Rock and David Spade. He went onto star in films such as Tommy Boy and Airheads, and originally voiced the title role in Shrek before being replaced by Mike Myers. After struggling with substance abuse for much of his life, Farley passed away from an accidental drug overdose in 1997 at the age of 33. He is still remembered as one of the greatest performers in SNL history.

The biopic will be based on The Chris Farley Show: A Biography In Three Acts, the New York Times-bestselling book by Tanner Colby and Tom Farley Jr, Farley’s brother. The screenplay, adapted from the book, will be written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber. Lorne Michaels, the creator and producer of SNL, will produce the Farley biopic through his Broadway Video banner. The project is currently being pitched to studios around Hollywood.

Gad and Hauser are a Big Team-Up

The directing of a biopic is a new endeavor for Gad, who starred in the Broadway musical The Book of Mormon before achieving worldwide fame voicing the snowman Olaf in Disney‘s Frozen franchise. Since then, Gad has starred in numerous other high-profile films, including Murder on the Orient Express, Beauty and the Beast, and Ghostbusters: Afterlife. He most recently voiced the dog Gus in the R-rated comedy Strays.

For Hauser, the role of Farley seems destined, as he told THR in 2021 that he had a desire to portray the comedian and had even talked to Farley’s family about the idea. Hauser is best known for his roles in the films I, Tonya, BlacKkKlansman, and Richard Jewell. The latter is considered Hauser‘s breakout performance, for which he received critical acclaim. Since then, he has gone onto star in the Apple TV+ miniseries Black Bird alongside Taron Egerton, for which he also recieved critical praise and won a Golden Globe and Primetime Emmy Award. He will voice Embarassment in the upcoming film Inside Out 2.