Hollywood Popular Artists

Oct 22nd 2012, 17:30

David Oyelowo is sticking with historical figures by moving on to a biopic about Sugar Ray Robinson following his upcoming role in Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln."

The "Red Tails" actor has a number of exciting upcoming projects, including the Tom Cruise-starring "Jack Reacher" and Lee Daniels-directed "The Butler." But we're now particularly excited about the fact that Oyelowo is going to star as Robinson in the upcoming flick "Sweet Thunder," which is based on the Wil Haygood biography "Sweet Thunder: The Life and Times of Sugar Ray Robinson."

This news comes at us from Deadline, who reports that Haygood wrote a script that "Moneyball" producer Rachael Horovitz and "Game Change" writer Danny Strong will produce. Oyelowo will also act as executive producer.

Apparently this all came together on the set of "The Butler." Strong wrote that movie with Daniels based on a Washington Post article Haygood had written called "A Butler Well Served by This Election," and Strong, Haygood and Oyelowo got to talking about making a movie about Robinson. Deadline reports that Strong might rewrite Haywood's "Sweet Thunder" script depending on who the director is.

Of everyone in Hollywood right now, Oyelowo is definitely a great choice for this role. He looks a good amount like Robinson and has also got the man's physique, though it will likely will still be hard for him to get into boxing shape. It helps that Oyelowo is a great actor, and his slate of upcoming films should boost him in the public's awareness. Consider us intrigued by "Sweet Thunder." Who knows, maybe Daniels will even come on board to make this something of a "The Butler" sequel.

What do you think of this casting news? Tell us in the comments section below or on Twitter!

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