Paramount’s Bob Marley music biopic has found a director.
Reinaldo Marcus Green, the director of the Will Smith film “King Richard,” will direct the untitled film about the reggae music pioneer legend.
Marley’s son and reggae artist Ziggy Marley will produce. Rita Marley and Cedella Marley will produce on behalf of Tuff Gong. Robert Teitel will also produce.
“Bob Marley’s music lives on in all of us. His lyrics transcend continents, color, creed, and generations of people,” Green said in a statement. “It heals. It fights. It bleeds love and truth. It’s a true honor and privilege to work with Ziggy and the Marley Family, and Paramount Pictures to bring his story to life. Audiences want to know the real Bob, the man as well as the legend. I trust this film will bring us closer to understanding his journey, his music, and continue to carry the torch of his legacy with humility and grace, and most of all, love.”
“I am very excited to be hands on in working to dive deeper into sharing the legacy of who our father Bob Marley is,” Ziggy Marley said in a statement. “It’s an incredible responsibility that we take on with Reinaldo and the team at Paramount to tell the story of our father in a way that truly honors him and will also entertain, enlighten, uplift and inspire his fans and audiences around the world. It’s like opening a window that has never been open before.”
Marley died at age 36 of cancer in 1981, but the Jamaican artist helped spread reggae music throughout the world and contributed to changing the face of rock music with his messages of peace and love in songs like “Jammin’,” “No Woman No Cry,” “I Shot the Sheriff,” “Redemption Song” and many more. His greatest hits album “Legend” has sold 12 million copies in the U.S. and is the best-selling reggae album of all time.
Green is in post-production on “King Richard,” which is a biopic about the life of tennis great Richard Williams and starring Will Smith. His most recent film “Joe Bell” starring Mark Wahlberg premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last year and was picked up by Solstice Studios. And his debut film “Monsters and Men” won the Best First Feature jury prize from Sundance in 2018.
Deadline first reported the news.