Chris Rock to Direct Martin Luther King Film

Actor and comedian Chris Rock is set to direct a biopic of civil rights icon Martin Luther King. Based on a biography of King by writer Jonathan Eig, called King: A Life, the film reportedly draws upon newly discovered evidence sourced from the FBI.

According to the book’s publisher, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, King: A Life is an “intimate portrayal of King as a courageous but emotionally troubled individual who demanded peaceful protest while grappling with his own frailties and a government that hunted him.”

There’s no title or release date for the biopic, but it does have a fairly successful name attached: Steven Spielberg. The legendary director will executive produce the project in association with his company Amblin Partners.

Rock’s previously directed Top Five (2014), I Think I Love My Wife (2007), and Head of State (2003), but this King biopic will be his biggest project to date.

And it's not the only biopic happening in Hollywood. There's a Michael Jackson Hollywood biopic in the works.