Over the last few years Paul Greengrass has run into roadblocks in the development of two major biopics. First there was his Martin Luther King Jr. film, Memphis, which actually began casting but ultimately was squashed by the MLK estate. Then there was his biopic on legendary rocker Jimi Hendrix, which ran into similar a similar problem. While Greengrass has turned his attention towards a return to the Jason Bourne franchise, it appears he never gave up on Hendrix and his persistence has paid off.
According to Deadline, Greengrass' Jimi Hendrix film is back on at Legendary Pictures, thanks to studio chief Thomas Tull. Tull was involved last time, too, but this time he's hired Scott Silver (8 Mile) to write the screenplay, and they've got the full cooperation by the Hendrix estate. Maybe it's because they saw John Ridley's terrible Jimi: All Is By My Side and got an idea how bad a film on the rocker can be without rights to his music. Better to let a pro like Greengrass do it and give him all the tools to make it great.
Last we'd heard negotiations were underway with Anthony Mackie to play Hendrix but right now it's not guaranteed he'll return. He's pretty busy soaring with Captain America in a bunch of Marvel flicks. So Greengrass gets his pet project and presumably it will be his follow-up to Bourne 5.
