The latest comedian biopic to be greenlit is one surrounding comedian Weird Al Yankovic, who you’ll remember as the bloke who parodied songs such as ‘Bad’ and ‘Beat It’ by Michael Jackson back in the ’90s.
And here’s the best part: portraying Weird Al in the forthcoming flick is Harry Potter himself, Daniel Radcliffe.
The movie, titled Weird Al Yankovic in Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, is being produced by streaming service Roku along with Funny or Die and Tango.
Weird Al himself wrote the flick, along with Funny or Die legend Eric Appel, who is set to direct.
“When Weird Al first sat me down against my will and told me his life story, I didn’t believe any of it,” Appel told Deadline. “But I knew that we had to make a movie about it.”
“When my last movie UHF came out in 1989, I made a solemn vow to my fans that I would release a major motion picture every 33 years, like clockwork. I’m very happy to say we’re on schedule. And I am absolutely thrilled that Daniel Radcliffe will be portraying me in the film,” Yankovic added. “I have no doubt whatsoever that this is the role future generations will remember him for.”
Production is set to kick off in Los Angeles early next month and I can’t bloody wait to see Daniel Radcliffe in a shaggy wig. It’ll be like Harry and Hagrid’s love child.
Another interesting tidbit: as pointed out by Vulture, Weird Al is a lil taller than Daniel, so I’m assuming they’re going to have to pop lifts into his shoes.
Speaking to Deadline, Roku’s Head of Original Scripted Programming, Colin Davis, said: “There clearly aren’t enough biopic movies about famous musicians and we were excited to shine a light on the incredibly true, unexaggerated story of Weird Al.
“This is sincerely the ultimate combination of talent, creativity, and friends, coming together to make something genuinely funny and we could not be prouder to call this film a Roku Original.”
Weird Al Yankovic in Weird: The Al Yankovic Story is expected to be released in 2023.
