O’Shea Jackson Jr is set to star in ‘Just Mercy’.
The 27-year-old actor – who is the oldest son of rapper Ice Cube – will join Michael B Jordan, Brie Larson and Jamie Foxx in the Warner Bros drama, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The Destin Cretton-directed project is based on the best-selling memoir by Bryan Stevenson, who is the founder of the Equal Justice Initiative.
The initiative fights on behalf of the wrongly condemned and death-row prisoners who are in the US justice system.
The upcoming film will tell the story of Stevenson’s first case, which focused on Walter McMillian, who was sentenced to death for a crime he didn’t commit.
Michael will also produce, along with Gil Netter and Asher Goldstein.
Filming will start on the project next month in Atlanta, Georgia.
O’Shea landed his big break in 2015 starring in biopic ‘Straight Outta Compton’, in which he portrayed his father Ice Cube.
Last year, he signed up to star in ‘Dock’, playing the lead role of the baseball pitcher Dock Ellis in the biopic penned by Joseph Poach.
The project sees him depict the real life story of the late New York Yankees sportsman – who died in 2008 aged 63 – and his battle against racism in the Major League Baseball during the 1960s and 1970s.
And the creative team insisted O’Shea was the "perfect fit" to play the titular role.
Producer David Permut – who is backing the film with The Firm’s Jeff Kwatinetz – said: "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."
O’Shea’s father – whose real name is O’Shea Jackson Senior – is also producing the movie via his entertainment company Cube Vision.
O’ Shea Jackson Jr to star in Just Mercy
