After a hiatus from shooting due to COVID, production for the upcoming boxing movie Flint Strong is underway and with a new cast member added.
Brian Tyree Henry joins the project alongside previously cast Ryan Destiny and Oluniké Adeliyi. Henry joins the boxing drama in a recast, Ice Cube originally played the role before production was indefinitely delayed.
Rachel Morrison is making her feature directorial debut with Flint Strong. Barry Jenkins adapted the screenplay which is based on Zackary Canepari and Drea Cooper’s 2015 documentary, T-Rex.
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It will tell the true story of Claressa “T-REX” Shields (Destiny), a 17-year-old Flint, Michigan native whose dreams of becoming the first woman in history to win an Olympic gold medal in boxing came to fruition at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
Adeliyi is playing Shields’ mother, Jackie, with Henry as her coach, Jason Crutchfield, who worked a cable job by day while training her by night. Crutchfield continues to train at Berston Field House today, while living in Flint with his family.
A few more changes also occurred. The project which was originally at Universal has moved to MGM and the film will continue shooting next week in Toronto. MGM will also produce the film.
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Jenkins is also producing, with Canepari, Cooper, Lyn Lucibello and Sue Jaye Johnson exec producing, and Elishia Holmes overseeing the project for MGM.
Up next Henry will star opposite Brad Pitt in Sony’s action thriller Bullet Train and Jennifer Lawrence in A24’s untitled feature from director Lila Neugebauer.