Everything we know about Bad Bunny's lead movie role debut

Puerto Rican musician Bad Bunny is rumoured to soon be taking a leading role in a film after a couple of minor acting credits.

Following the 31-year-old’s historic Super Bowl halftime show performance, Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, has hit the mainstream public consciousness, taking his stardom to a new level in what has been a landmark year.

And, it seems the newly crowned Grammys winner (for Album of the Year) isn’t content with stopping at music, as he has landed his first lead role in a movie after small roles in movies Bullet Train, Happy Gilmor 2 and Caught Stealing.

Here’s everything we know about Bad Bunny’s newest career move.

What is the movie?

Bad Bunny has landed a role in the upcoming historical epic movie, Porto Rico, based on his home country of Puerto Rico.

At the time of its announcement in 2023, the film was described as being based on the life of José Maldonado Román, a late 19th-century Puerto Rican revolutionary, known as Águila Blanca, who fought against colonialism.

Porto Rico is to be directed by the rapper René “Residente” Pérez Joglar.

“I have dreamed of making a film about my country since I was a child. Puerto Rico’s true history has always been surrounded by controversy,” Residente said. “This film is a reaffirmation of who we are — told with the intensity and honesty that our history deserves.”

Who else will star in the movie?

Among the main cast, other names include acting powerhouses Viggo Mortensen, Edward Norton and Javier Bardem.

“This film sits in a tradition of films we deeply love, from The Godfather to Gangs of New York, that both thrill us with visceral drama and iconic characters and eras while also forcing us to face up to the shadow story under the American narrative of idealism,” Norton said.

“Everybody knows what a poet of language and rhythm René is. Now they’re going to see what a visual visionary he is as well. And bringing him and Bad Bunny together to tell the true story of Puerto Rico’s roots is going to be like a flame finding the stick of dynamite that’s been waiting for it.”

Alejandro G. Iñárritu, an Oscar-winning director and producer, will also executive produce the project.

The release date for the project is as yet unknown.

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