Winston Duke, aka M’Baku from Black Panther, will be taking on a new role, this time as Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson in a new biopic.
This will be Duke’s first lead role.
Deadline confirmed that the 31-year-old Trinidadian will portray the Bahamian-born MMA brawler in Backyard Legend.
The film will be produced by Steve Lee Jones’ Bee Holder Productions and Michael J. Weiss’ Webros Entertainment. Andy Weiss will be writing the screenplay.
Jones shared how he felt about the upcoming film and why he thinks Winston will be the perfect person for the role.
“It’s a rich and layered tale about this man’s incredible journey from a poor neighborhood in Miami to becoming a worldwide phenomenon. We are ecstatic that Winston has decided to take on this both physically and emotionally challenging role. We simply could not find a better Kimbo,” he said.
Unfortunately Kimbo Slice passed in 2016 suddenly from heart failure and a liver mass. He suffered from high blood pressure for years but wanted to continue with his love for boxing.
Personally, I hope to see scenes from Kimbo’s younger days and how he rose from homelessness. His brutal backyard fights helped him gain fame, especially on Youtube.
With Winston involved, I’m sure it’ll be a great film and hopefully, it’ll accurately portray Kimbo’s life.