Bruno Mars will not be playing Prince in an upcoming biopic for Netflix, despite a report from The Daily Mirror which claims the “24K Magic” was being considered for the role.
The Mirror article claims that Mars is just one of a list of men who are being eyed for the lead spot in the movie. They also quoted an unnamed source from Netflix who said that the singer is the first choice among execs for the role.
“It will probably be the most nerve-racking move of his career if it happens,” the “source” added.
But there’s a clear indication that the story is false.
Billboard reports that a representative for Mars has said that the story is false. The singer will not be taking the lead role acting in a movie about Prince, the rep maintained. They also added that there isn’t a biopic for the “Purple Rain” singer being developed.
This will likely make the people who were unhappy with the thought of Mars playing Prince very happy. Many voiced their displeasure with the idea. Some voiced concern about the choice because Bruno Mars is not African American as Prince was.
“I’ve got nothing against Bruno but if he has any sense, he’ll turn this down & not bite off more than he can chew I mean..” one person tweeted. “B4 anything else, Bruno is not black…”
“Bruno Mars also isn’t black,” another Twitter user wrote. “Bruno Mars can sing, dance and play instruments but that doesn’t mean he can act like Prince.”
There were also those who thought that Mars doesn’t have the androgynous appeal that Prince harnessed throughout his career.
I love Bruno mars , but Miguel or Jussie Smolley needs to play prince. Idk how but y’all need to figure it out
— The Monster Maker???? (@SheIsBig_Mo) September 12, 2018
Mars showed that he was competent at paying tribute to the pop/funk/rock legend on stage at least in a performance at the 2017 Grammy Awards. During that performance, Mars performed “Let’s Go Crazy.”
If you’re disappointed that there’s no Prince biopic on the horizon, there’s a movie about the life of another deceased rock superstar coming soon. Mr. Robot ‘s Rami Malek will play Freddie Mercury in a biopic called Bohemian Rhapsody. Buzz around the film has been building since a trailer was released in July.
As The Telegraph reports, there were doubts that the movie would ever be made because it was mired in development for a long time. There have also been changes to the team behind the production. For example, Bryan Singer was fired from the director’s chair and has claimed that the experience with the project caused him to develop PTSD.
Bohemian Rhapsody is set to be released in October of this year.
