From “Rocky” to “Ali,” to “The Champ,” “Creed,” and more, boxing has a storied history in cinema. Everyone loves an underdog tale, and boxing narratives always manage to expertly tell these tales of overcoming the odds and achieving greatness with many of the personal costs involved.
The latest boxing film, however, centers on a boxer who’s never really had the cinematic treatment so far, George Foreman. This former heavyweight gets his due in the mouthful of a title, “Big George Foreman: The Miraculous Story of the Once and Future Heavyweight Champion of the World,” though surely it’ll be marketed as just “Big George Foreman.”
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The film is directed by George Tillman Jr. (“The Hate You Give,” “Notorious,” “Soul Food”), the screenplay comes from Frank Baldwin & Tillman Jr., and the film stars relative unknown Khris Davis (“Judas and the Black Messiah”) in the title role. Davis made his breakthrough role when he appeared in the 2017 film “Detroit,” by Kathryn Bigelow, so clearly, people noticed his talents.
The film also stars Jasmine Mathews, Sullivan Jones, Lawrence Gilliard Jr., and John Magaro, with Sonja Sohn and Forest Whitaker as Foreman’s key trainer and mentor Doc Broadus. Here’s the official synopsis:
Big George Foreman: The Miraculous Story of the Once and Future Heavyweight Champion of the World is based on the remarkable true story of one of the greatest comebacks of all time and the transformational power of second chances. Fueled by an impoverished childhood, Foreman channeled his anger into becoming an Olympic Gold medalist and World Heavyweight Champion, followed by a near-death experience that took him from the boxing ring to the pulpit. But when he sees his community struggling spiritually and financially, Foreman returns to the ring and makes history by reclaiming his title, becoming the oldest and most improbable World Heavyweight Boxing Champion ever. Directed by acclaimed filmmaker George Tillman Jr. from a story by Dan Gordon and Frank Baldwin & George Tillman Jr, and a screenplay by Baldwin & Tillman, the film stars Khris Davis ( Judas and the Black Messiah) as Foreman and also stars Academy Award® winner Forest Whitaker as Foreman’s trainer and mentor Doc Broadus.
“Big George Foreman” punches its way into theaters on April 28, 2023, via Sony Pictures. Watch the new trailer below.