JOHN Boyega is set to portray Otis Redding in the upcoming film Otis & Zelma, which will explore the decade-long relationship between the iconic soul singer and his wife, Zelma.
The film will highlight Redding’s remarkable career, featuring hits like (Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay and These Arms of Mine, and will cover the couple's love story, culminating in Redding's tragic death in a plane crash at just 26 years old.
According to Variety, the film aims to celebrate the “10 short years Otis and Zelma had together, and their eternal love story after his passing.”
Following Redding's death, Zelma, who will be played by Danielle Deadwyler, opened a booking agency, a record store, and a nightclub. She never remarried, and famously stated in a 2022 New York Times interview, “Never will. I love being Mrs. Otis Redding. I’m the only one.”
News of the movie, which has the full support of Mrs Redding and the Otis Redding estate, came days before Otis was posthumously honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on October 4.
Otis & Zelma will be directed by Channing Godfrey Peoples, whose debut film Miss Juneteenth garnered critical acclaim at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival.
Boyega is well-known for his role as Finn in the Star Wars trilogy and has appeared in films such as Attack the Block, The Woman King, Detroit, and They Cloned Tyrone. He also featured in Steve McQueen’s anthology series Small Axe.
Deadwyler portrayed Emmett Till’s mother in Till and has appeared in The Harder They Fall and I Saw the TV Glow, as well as the acclaimed series Station Eleven. She is considered a strong contender for an Oscar nomination for her performance in the August Wilson adaptation The Piano Lesson, which received rave reviews at this year’s Telluride Film Festival.
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