No, it wasn’t just a rumor: there really will be a biopic of rapper Tupac Shakur. What makes it more real now is that it finally has a producer by the name of John Singleton, who is best known for his directorial debut “Boyz N The Hood,” released in 1991. Singleton will not only produce, but rewrite and direct the biopic as well.

Tupac Shakur died in 1996 at the age of 25. He was fatally wounded during a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas, reportedly due to an earlier altercation between him and another crew. The brawl, captured on CCTV, showed Shakur and several other men from Death Row Records assaulting Orlando ‘Baby Lane’ Anderson at the lobby of the MGM Grand. Anderson and his crew were said to have robbed one of the members of the Death Row entourage at a store, and so Shakur and his crew acted in revenge. Later that night after leaving a club, Shakur was shot while driving his car. He died six days later. The murder remains unsolved.

Tupac Shakur is known for his outspoken personality and controversial lyrics, and it will likely be a challenge to capture his spirit on film. The biopic is expected to show Shakur’s rise not only as a rapper but also as an actor. In 1993, he starred in “Poetic Justice,” a romantic movie, alongside Janet Jackson. Singleton directed the film, which was created around the work of writer Maya Angelou. This makes Singleton a good primary source of reference for what Shakur was like as an actor, and who Tupac was behind the scenes.

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Singleton was actually involved in the project when it was being conceptualized. Unfortunately, the deal didn’t push through, and there had been other factors that stalled the project. Now, with Morgan Creek Productions and Emmett Furla Oasis Films on board, the biopic is definitely a go. Singleton will first work on the screenplay, with production slated for this summer.

Image via Tupac Shakur,Twitter