In the end, the right man for the job got it after all, as John Singleton has been set to direct Morgan Creek’s untitled Tupac Shakur biopic following his exit from the long-gestating project two years ago.
The Tupac biopic has been a passion project for Singleton, who directed the iconic rapper in 1993’s “Poetic Justice” and has grown close to Shakur’s family since his murder.
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After suffering a setback when Singleton’s deal fell through, the Tupac project is back on track and Emmett/Furla/Oasis recently came on to co-finance the film with Morgan Creek. Singleton will direct, produce and rewrite the script before he begins casting this summer.
Morgan Creek announced it had greenlit the movie at the American Film Market last fall. The company’s James G. Robinson and David Robinson will also produce along with L.T. Hutton of Program Pictures. Shakur’s mother, Afeni, is expected to serve as an executive producer.
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Antoine Fuqua was previously attached to direct the Tupac movie, though he was unable to find a leading man despite an open casting call.
Singleton is repped by WME, Underground and Morris Yorn.
Variety broke the news.