Deadline is exclusively reporting that Kingsley Ben-Adir is set to star in Paramount’s upcoming biopic about reggae legend Bob Marley.

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Bob Marley was a Jamaican singer-songwriter who became an international musical and cultural icon, starting out with the group The Wailers in the early 1960’s, then going solo in the mid 70’s once the group disbanded, establishing his worldwide status, introducing generations to reggae music, and becoming one of the best-selling artists of all time. He died in 1981 at the age of 36 due to cancer.

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Deadline’s sources state that Paramount executives and the film’s director, Reinaldo Marcus Green, saw endless tests and met with dozens of actors for the role the past year, but in recent weeks Ben-Adir began putting himself as the frontrunner and ultimately won the role.

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The film has been in development for some time and now the pieces are now starting to come together with a director and now a star in the lead role. The project is being produced by Ziggy Marley, Rita Marley and Cedella Marley will also produce on behalf of Tuff Gong, alongside Robert Teitel. The screenplay is written by Zach Baylin, Frank E. Flowers and Terence Winter.