‘No Time To Die’s Lashana Lynch To Play Bob Marley’s Wife, Rita, In Paramount Biopic
deadline.comEXCLUSIVE: Following another lengthy casting search, sources tell Deadline that Lashana Lynch has been tapped to play Bob Marley’s wife, Rita, in the untitled Bob Marley pic for Paramount.
Kingsley Ben-Adir has been set to portray the legendary Reggae singer with King Richard director Reinaldo Marcus Green helming.Similar to the casting of Bob, a large net was cast when it came to finding the right person to play Rita including looking to find someone with Jamaican descent (Lynch was born in England but her family comes from Jamaica).
Following several tests including chemistry reads with Ben-Adir, Lynch not only won over execs but also Rita and the Marley family, who all gave their blessing to the casting.Rita, Ziggy and Cedella Marley will also produce on behalf of Tuff Gong.
Robert Teitel will also produce. Script is by Zach Baylin, Frank E. Flowers and Terence Winter.Bob Marley died of cancer in 1981 at age 36, but in that short lifetime he changed the landscape of music, introducing generations to reggae with such songs as “Get Up, Stand Up,” “One Love,” “No Woman, No Cry,” “Could You Be Loved,” “Buffalo Soldier,” “Jammin’” and “Redemption Song.”While audiences remember Bob for his impact on the Reggae scene and political activism, his and Rita’s love story has its own timeless feel to it and is equally essential part to telling his incredible life story.
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