Ryan Coogler has been tapped to produce Universal Pictures’ jukebox musical featuring Prince‘s hit songs. According to The InSneider, the acclaimed director has been attached to the project, which has been in development since 2018.
The Hollywood Reporter states that the musical is a project from Proximity Media with a script penned by Bryan Edward Hill. Hill is known for his work on HBO’s Titans, Power Rangers, and his work on various Marvel and DC Comics, like the critically acclaimed American Carnage. Hill took to Instagram to detail his involvement in the film. “I did a thing with Ryan Coogler and Universal. Some inaccuracies in the article but it’s close enough, hahaha,” he typed. “Ryan Jones at Universal is also producing and he was really the driving force of bringing me onto this. I think I’m the current draft? Not sure. But I did some drafts, lol. Got to meet the estate and his relatives. That was cool.”
Proximity’s Rebecca Cho has been linked to the project as an executive producer. Additional producers on the project include Zinzi Coogler, Sev Ohanian, and Jody Gerson, the chair of Universal Music Publishing Group. The soundtrack for the film hasn’t been confirmed as of this article’s publish date, but they will have a ton of music to choose from.
The Billboard charts state that the Purple One finished his musical journey with 47 entries on the Hot 100, 19 of which landed in the top 10. Of those 47 songs, 5 of them landed at the coveted No. 1 spot. These hit singles include “When Doves Cry,” “Let’s Go Crazy,” “Kiss,” “Cream,” and “Batdance.” And that’s just talking about the hits. Don’t get us started on the fan favorites and deep cuts that Prince fans would love to see immortalized by Universal’s upcoming jukebox.
As for Ryan Coogler, he’s been hard at work on a secret movie starring Michael B. Jordan. THR previously reported that Warner Bros. purchased the rights to the movie. The company outbid other studios, including Sony and Universal, to snag rights to the mysterious work.
Ryan Coogler penned the confidential flick’s script and will produce the project. Coogler’s wife, Zinzi, and Ohanian will also produce the film through Proximity Media. Cho is also attached as an executive producer. Jordan will play the leading man in the film, which has been described as “an original genre film.”
THR’s Borys Kit also reports that Coogler and Jordan’s joint flick will be an original concept based around vampires and “the undead + 1930s setting + anime influences.” The outlet reports that Coogler and Jordan intend to begin shooting the project in April in New Orleans. However, no other details surrounding the film are known.
