He's following up the true-life tale (of his father) Straight Outta Compton with the more fantastical Godzilla: King Of The Monsters. But for another new movie, O'Shea Jackson Jr. is headed back to reality, playing infamous baseball pitcher Dock Ellis.
Dock, as the film is currently titled, has a script by Joseph Poach, and tells the colourful story of Ellis, known for his loud mouth, chaotic style and quick wit when calling out double standards and the racism of Major League Baseball at a time (the 1960s and 70s) when it was still casually deployed.
Ellis played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, Texas Rangers, and New York Mets, but was perhaps best known for pitching a no-hitter while, he claimed, high on LSD. He later said that he always pitched while on some sort of drug, and after his retirement, he got sober and counseled addicts going through treatment centres and prisons. He died in 2008 at the age of 63.
"Joey Poach’s script is one of the most heartfelt, honest and emotional pieces of material I’ve read in years, and I think the complexities of the character are a perfect fit for O’Shea," says producer David Permut, who will work on the film with The Firm's Jeff Kwatinetz and Ice Cube, involved via his Cube Vision company. The film still needs to lock in a director, so expect it to sit in the development dugout a while longer.
Jackson has comedy Ingrid Goes West due on 17 November, with the Godzilla sequel arriving on 22 March, 2019.