John Boyega And Danielle Deadwyler Cast In Otis Redding Biopic ‘Otis & Zelma’

An Otis Redding biopic has been set, with John Boyega and Danielle Deadwyler set to star, and Miss Juneteenth filmmaker Channing Godfrey Peoples set to direct.

Otis & Zelma , from Fifth Season, is also produced by Homegrown Pictures and Kinfolk Management + Media. Variety first broke the news of the project.

As Variety reports, “the music-based film chronicles the life of Otis Redding, who is considered to be one of the most impactful singer-songwriters of our lifetime, with indelible hits […] Redding’s burgeoning superstar career was tragically cut short when he died in a 1967 plane crash, leaving behind Zelma and three young children. He was 26 years old.”

The script was written by Donnetta Lavina Grays with revisions by Godfrey Peoples.

Variety nabbed an early synopsis of the project, which says that it “celebrates the 10 short years Otis and Zelma had together, and their eternal love story after his passing. Zelma’s resilience and determination to preserve his musical legacy for the last 56 years fuels her, just as much as Otis’ love for Zelma fueled him.”

The film has the support of both Zelma Redding, now 81, and the estate of Otis Redding. The film’s announcement concides with Redding’s posthumous Hollywood Walk of Fame honor on Friday.

Other producers on the project include Stephanie Allain of Homegrown Pictures and Arron Saxe of Kinfolk Management + Media. Executive producers are Amos Newman, Claire Brooks of Homegrown Pictures, Boyega, and Deadwyler.

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