It’s remarkable that in the nearly 20 years since Tupac Shakur’s death the music icon hasn’t been the focus of a biopic. After all, he still has a passionate following and many were insanely excited by his hologram’s first appearance last year at Coachella. In fact, his fanbase is so large that he’s sold over 75 million albums in the years since his death, which came at the age of 25 in 1996. Taking that enduring popularity into consideration, Emmett/Furla/Oasis Films is teaming with Morgan Creek Productions to produce Tupac.
The film is being scripted by Eddie Gonzalez and Jeremy Haft, with a draft expected to be completed sometime in October. A director and a lead have yet to be named.
Casting Tupac is going to be a tough one, as is true with casting any iconic figure. The first question that will have to be handled is whether to go with an established actor or someone relatively unknown. Either option is going to leave a ton of candidates to be sorted through and scrutinized.
The film is supposed to start production in February, and they will have access to Tupac’s musical catalog. In addition, Tupac’s mother, Afeni Shakur, will serve as a producer on the film.
Keep in mind, a lot could still go wrong with this, especially considering the script isn’t even done yet. I’m reluctant to say any project will for sure happen without a script done, but the number of times the efforts to get this thing made haven’t panned out makes me even more hesitant. That being said, we’ve got confirmation on this from Morgan Creek, so I’d say this is a pretty sure thing, but February still seems awfully ambitious. I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see the production start for this get bumped back a few months.
What do you think of Tupac? Any picks for who you want to see cast? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.