First Dolemite, and now George Clinton.
According to Deadline, Eddie Murphy is currently in early talks to play Parliament-Funkadelic founder George Clinton in an upcoming biopic. Murphy is also set to serve as a producer on the project with Dolemite Is My Name collaborator John Davis and Catherine Davis.
Murphy and Davis are currently looking at securing the rights to bring the P-Funk founder’s life to the big screen. Once the rights are secured, they will hire writers and shop the project to different studios. The project is a part of Murphy’s three-movie deals with Amazon Video that came after the success of Coming 2 America.
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The film focuses on Clinton’s upbringing in North Carolina in the 1940s and will show the formation of Parliament-Funkadelic and the band’s impact on hip hop artists such as Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, 2Pac, and Ice Cube.
Murphy’s upcoming George Clinton project is a “passion project” for him. Murphy took a few years from acting before returning with 2019’s Dolemite Is My Name. Murphy garnered acclaim for his portrayal of Rudy Ray Moore and even received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor. Murphy is set to appear in Netflix’s You People later this year, directed by Kenya Barris and co-written by Jonah Hill. The star-studded cast includes Lauren London, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, David Duchovny, Nia Long, Sam Jay, and Molly Gordon.
Murphy is also set to reprise his role as Axel Foley in Beverly Hills Cop IV.