Well, this is interesting. Deadline reports that Universal Pictures has optioned the rights to adapt Jonathan Eig‘s Martin Luther King Jr. biography, “King: A Life.” But who’s in line to direct and executive produce is most intriguing here. Steven Spielberg will be executive producer on the project, but Chris Rock, of all people, in talks to direct and produce.
It’s not Rock hasn’t directed before, but what he’s directed before. An MLK Jr. biopic is quite a departure from 2003’s “Head Of State,” 2007’s “I Think I Love My Wife,” and 2014’s “Top Five.” “King: A Life” will be the most prestigious project of the Emmy and Grammy-award-winning comedian’s career. And in terms of subject matter, it’s much more serious than Rock’s recent Netflix stand-up special, “Chris Rock: Selective Outrage,” or his Comedy Central/Paramount+ animated series “Everybody Still Hates Chris.” But let’s not write off Rock’s involvement on this project just yet.
Released earlier this year in hardcover, Eig’s “King: A Life” is already a bestseller and a National Book Award nominee. Eig’s biography uses previously unused sources including newly declassified information from FBI documents about the civil rights leader. Many consider the new book to be a definitive account of Dr. King’s life by providing new shades of grey to an already complicated figure. Lucy Stille of Lucy Stille Literary brokered the rights deal for “King: A Life,” Eig’s sixth book, with Universal.
On the production side of things, Universal’s Senior Vice President of Production Development Ryan Jones oversees the project. Kristie Macosko and Rock will co-produce the film through Amblin Partners. And with Amblin involved, Spielberg will executive produce the movie, as noted above.
Obviously, Rock can’t choose who will play MLK Jr. for him in “King: A Life” until the SAG-AFTRA guild strike ends. But it’s intriguing enough that the comedian would attach himself to a project with subject matter so serious. Maybe this starts a new phase in Rock’s career, as he co-stars in a “Rustin,” a biopic about civil rights leader Bayard Rustin, who organized the 1963 march of Washington where Dr. King made his iconic “I Have A Dream” speech. Colman Domingo stars in George C. Wolfe‘s film, which had its premiere at Telluride in late August. “Rustin” also screen at TIFF last month, and premieres on Netflix on November 7 after a run in select theaters starting November 3.
Stay tuned for more news on “King: A Life,” easily one of Hollywood’s most anticipated movies given those involved creatively.
