With a varied filmography from Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai to The King’s Speech, which garnered him the Oscar for Best Actor, Forest Whitaker has become one of the most versatile actors in Hollywood. That versatility will be put to the test in an upcoming Martin Luther King, Jr. biopic, Memphis. Directed by Philip Greengrasss (The Bourne Ultimatum), the script follows the last years of MLK’s life leading up to his final rally in the titular Memphis.
Memphis has been in development hell for years due to being dropped by Universal and losing support from King’s family. However, the project will become a strictly independent film, meaning it will have a lower budget and possibly finding distribution through a smaller studio. However, with Whitaker’s name attached to the project, it should be green-lit and fast tracked towards production.
With rumors of a separate MLK film in discussion with DreamWorks (with the support of King’s family), it’ll be interesting to see who’ll be cast as King for that film. Personally, with no scheduling conflicts, I think Terrence Howard would make a perfect MLK. What do you guys think? Is Whitaker the right actor to portray King, Jr? Or would you rather have seen a different actor in the role?
[via /Film]