Earlier this week, Oscar-winning actor Jamie Foxx confirmed that he will play Mike Tyson in an upcoming biopic about the life of the American former world-champion boxer.
Fresh off the back of his performance as a wrongfully convicted criminal in Just Mercy, Foxx will play the former “baddest man on the planet” and is getting ripped while he’s at it.
Apparently, the film has been in the works for years, however, it has finally been given the green light.
So, what do we already know about the film?
What will the biopic be about?
The film will be centred around the life of Michael Tyson, an American former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 2005.
Tyson reigned as the undisputed world heavyweight champion and holds the record as the youngest boxer to win a heavyweight title, at just over 20 years old.
In an Instagram Live session with film producer Mark Birnbaum (Stop the Presses), Foxx said that “doing biographies is a tough thing.”
“Sometimes it takes 20 years to get it done but we officially got the real ball rolling,” he said. “I can’t wait to show people what it is.”
“I saw him at the height of his career, and then when things got bad and bumpy I also saw him as well. So what I’m excited about the movie is to show those moments,” he added.
According to the 52-year-old, the film won’t shy away from the true grit of Tyson’s past.
“That’s the person that we want to show,” Foxx said.
“We want to show everybody evolves. Everybody comes from a good or bad place and I think when we lay the layers on Mike Tyson in this story, I think everybody from young and old will be able to understand this man’s journey and the way we’ll place it.”
Who is in the cast?
So far, Foxx is the only actor to be linked to the film.
Who is linked to direct?
Three years ago, Foxx did an interview with Screenrant saying that “Mike Tyson’s life is one of the most amazing American stories.”
During the interview, he also said that acclaimed director Martin Scorsese was attached to the project, however, there has been no word on whether this is still the case.
Foxx is no stranger to the biopic, having played Ray Charles in the 2004 film, Ray and of course, Scorsese, is a powerhouse behind-the-scenes, having directed Raging Bull and The Aviator.
How has Foxx transformed into the champion boxer?
“The technology of how I’m going to look, I guarantee you people will run up on me in the street and ask for autographs, and think that I’m Mike,” Foxx said during the interview.
Keen to portray as faithful to the boxer as possible, the actor has been doing “60 pull-ups, 60 dips, and 100 push-ups every other day” to bulk up.
When will it be released?
As pre-production for the film has only just begun, the Mike Tyson biopic will most likely be released in 2022.