Bad Bunny is on top of the world right now. Coming off a historic Album of the Year win at the Grammys, which marked the first for a Spanish-language album, Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio got the chance to play on the biggest stage — The Super Bowl LX Halftime Show — and delivered a powerful message of multiculturalism, hope, and the power of love over hate. Bolstered by Lady Gaga, Ricky Martin, and an actual wedding, the performance averaged over 128 million viewers, just shy of a record for the coveted platform. Yet 2026 is just getting started, and the Puerto Rican superstar isn’t planning to slow down anytime soon.
Although his music remains his biggest draw, Bad Bunny has increasingly leaned into film. 2025 saw him take up a prominent role as the comedic new caddie to Adam Sandler‘s titular golfer in the much-anticipated Happy Gilmore 2, and he also appeared in the stylish Austin Butler-led crime thriller Caught Stealing, playing an associate to the Russian mob. Before that, in 2022, he was one of the many colorful and deadly assassins seen in David Leitch‘s action thriller, Bullet Train. Never, however, has he been the lead of a movie, though that will soon change thanks to a new project from a fellow Puerto Rican icon.
A new report confirmed on Wednesday that Bad Bunny has been tapped to star in the feature directorial debut of 34-time Grammy and Latin Grammy Award-winning rapper René “Residente” Pérez Joglar. Titled Porto Rico, it’s described as an epic historical drama and, in general, a love letter to the multihyphenate director’s native Puerto Rico. The film was first announced to be in development back in 2023, with Oscar-winning Birdman writer Alexander Dinelaris penning the script. In addition to Ocasio, Joglar now has a massively star-studded cast to work with from top to bottom, including The Lord of the Rings icon Viggo Mortensen, Oscar nominee Edward Norton, and Oscar winner Javier Bardem. If that weren’t enough award-worthy talent, multi-Oscar-winning writer-director Alejandro G. Iñárritu, who directed Birdman and The Revenant, among other things, is also attached as an executive producer.
What Is ‘Porto Rico’ About?
It’s not entirely clear whether Porto Rico will follow the same plot as was planned when it was first announced in 2023, but a release for the film said it “blends historical scope with a visceral, lyrical approach and a gripping narrative inspired by true events.” Originally, it was announced as a sweeping biopic of sorts, centered on 19th-century Puerto Rican revolutionary José Maldonado Román, known as Águila Blanca or White Eagle. A folk hero who became ingrained in the island’s history for his opposition to the Spanish occupation with his band of ex-convicts, he was instrumental in helping Puerto Rico forge its own identity and freedom from colonialism. Whatever way Residente approaches it, the film will be dripping with history and culture, even down to the title, which harkens back to the anglicized spelling of the Caribbean island.
Residente is much more than just a massively decorated artist. He’s also an activist and frequent champion of Puerto Rico and Latin America in general, having previously fronted campaigns for UNICEF and Amnesty International and remaining an active fighter for education. Porto Rico is a passion project for him, as he shared in an official statement, “I have dreamed of making a film about my country since I was a child. Puerto Rico’s true history has always been surrounded by controversy. This film is a reaffirmation of who we are — told with the intensity and honesty that our history deserves.” He’s producing with Erick Douât for 1868 Studios, alongside Norton, Bill Migliore, and Michael Bederman for Class 5 Films.
For Norton, who has starred in legendary films like Fight Club and Glass Onion, the decision to board Porto Rico was a no-brainer. He believes it shares DNA with some of the great American historical crime thrillers, coming from two individuals in Residente and Bad Bunny, who are both so ingrained in the island’s culture themselves.
“This film sits in a tradition of films we deeply love, from The Godfather to Gangs of New York, that both thrill us with visceral drama and iconic characters and eras while also forcing us to face up to the shadow story under the American narrative of idealism. Everybody knows what a poet of language and rhythm René is. Now they’re going to see what a visual visionary he is as well. And bringing him and Bad Bunny together to tell the true story of Puerto Rico’s roots is going to be like a flame finding the stick of dynamite that’s been waiting for it.”
via Collider