O’Shea Jackson Jr. Just Landed The Role Of A Lifetime

Straight Outta Compton‘s O’Shea Jackson Jr. is about to bring a huge sports figure to the screen. According to Variety, he will be playing Major League Baseball pitcher Dock Ellis in an untitled movie about his life.

Ice Cube (O’Shea Jackson Jr.’s father), Jeff Kwatinetz and Hacksaw Ridge producer, David Permut, are set to produce the film. Permut acquired a spec script called “Dock” from writer Joey Poach back in November and he brought Dock Ellis’ son to the team as a consultant.

Ellis played in the major leagues for 12 years, nine of those years were with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Ellis often advocated for Black players and continued the fight for racial equality in the major leagues, similar to Jackie Robinson. He got a bad rep after he retired, saying that he pitched a no-hitter in 1970 while he was high on LSD. He continued to say that he never pitched a game sober and eventually he sought treatment for his alcohol and drug addiction. For the remainder of his life, Ellis counseled other folks suffering from substance abuse problems, especially athletes. He died from a liver ailment in 2008 at age 63.

Ellis’ biopic is the first developed under a partnership with Ice Cube’s production company, Cube Vision, AID Partners, and a Hong Kong media investment company. There has yet to be a release date announced.