Bob Marley Biopic Finds Its Buffalo Soldier In Kingsley Ben-Adir!

Kingsley Ben-Adir, of One Night in Miami fame, is all set to play iconic musician Bob Marley in his upcoming biopic.

The much awaited biopic will focus on the life and times of iconic reggae musician Bob Marley. According to Deadline, Paramount Pictures had been in search of an actor to play the music icon for almost a year now.

Producers auditioned several actors for the role. Ben-Adir began lobbying for it in the recent weeks and fit the picture pretty well.

The film is set to be the first ever official theatrical biopic of the singer.

Marley is known for being one of the first and most iconic reggae musicians who made Jamaican music popular internationally. In a career spanning around 18 years, Marley delivered several hits.

Other than his music, his controversial political opinions also made him popular among various sections.

Director Reinaldo Marcus Green has been roped in to direct the highly ambitious project. Green’s film King Richard was also recently nominated as the Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Wolf of Wall Street-fame writer Terence Winter, with Frank E Flowers, will be penning the screenplay.

CEO of the Marley estate, Cedella Marley alongside brother Ziggy Marley and mother Rita Marley is producing the biopic. All in all, Paramount seems to have its main crew in a solid lineup.

Casting Kingsley Ben-Adir was a masterstroke. He is suited for the look both in terms of looks and potential. The actor has been well noted for his performance as Malcom X in the Oscar-nominated One Night In Miami. In addition, he has also done great work in popular television shows such as Peaky Blinders and The OA.

Ben-Adir has also recently bagged a role of a main villain in the upcoming Marvel series, Secret Invasion.

Biopics about iconic musicians seems to be in focus for Hollywood producers and directors as of now. A biopic on Michael Jackson is reportedly in development at Lionsgate, produced by Graham King.

Other iconic musicians who are in talks for potential biopics include Bob Dylan, Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, Whitney Houston and The Beatles.

This sudden trend of biopics on music icons may have risen after the success of films like Bohemian Rhapsody (a biopic on the band Queen) and Rocketman (the biopic of Elton John).

It seems like the upcoming Bob Marley biopic is all set to join the list pretty soon. No official release date of the biopic has been announced yet.

Meanwhile, you can check out Ben-Adir’s recent most loved work One Night In Miami on Amazon Prime Video.