Kevin Macdonald, the Oscar- and BAFTA-winning director behind the 1999 political doc One Day in September and 2003 survival story Touching the Wind, has signed on to helm the Bob Marley documentary Marley, the film’s producers announced Wednesday.
Macdonald, whose big budget gladiator epic The Eagle, starring Channing Tatum and Jamie Bell opens Feb. 11, turns his focus to music and the global impact of the legendary reggae singer-songwriter with an authorized documentary that will include input from Marley’s family.
“What made Bob tick is probably unanswerable but viewers will certainly feel that they know him a little better after seeing our documentary,” Macdonald said in a press statement. “I am grateful to the Marley family for entrusting me with their heritage.”
The iconic musician’s son, Ziggy Marley, is executive producing along with Steve Bing and Chris Blackwell.
“We went to Kevin initially as an acclaimed documentarian but what has been most important to the family is his obvious passion for and interest in my father’s life as a musician and person,” Marley said.
Marley, which will be shot on location in Jamaica, Ghana, Japan, the U.K. and the U.S., will premiere later this year, during the 30th anniversary year after Marley’s passing in 1981.
