
Ice Cube is lacing up some gloves for Flint Strong, Universal Pictures’ dramatic adaptation of the 2015 boxing documentary, T-REX.
Rachel Morrison, the director of photography who worked on Black Panther and made history when she became the first woman cinematographer to be nominated for an Oscar, is making her feature directorial debut on the project.
Cube joins Ryan Destiny, best known for starring in Fox’s Star, in the true story of 17-year-old Claressa “T-REX” Shields, a Flint Michigan native who dreamt of becoming the first woman in history to win an Olympic gold medal in boxing. Those dreams were realized at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
Cube will play her coach Jason Crutchfield.
Barry Jenkins (Moonlight, If Beale Street Could Talk) wrote the screenplay.
Michael De Luca (Captain Phillips, The Social Network) is producing via his Universal-based Michael De Luca Productions alongside Jenkins and De Luca Productions’ Elishia Holmes.
Universal’s senior executive vp of production Erik Baiers and creative executive Tony Ducret are oversee the project for the studio.
Cube, who starred in the hit Ride Along comedies for Universal, last appeared on the big-screen with 2017’s Fist Fight. He is repped by WME, Prospect Park and Ziffren Brittenham.
This article originally appeared on The Hollywood Reporter.