Bad Bunny Gets First Leading Film Role — And It Couldn’t Be More Perfect For Him

It’s been a big couple of weeks for Puerto Rican pop sensation Bad Bunny. First, he won the Grammy award for album of the year, then he took the stage for this year’s Super Bowl halftime show, generating plenty of attention in the process. Now, he’s snagged his first leading film role, alongside Javier Bardem and Edward Norton.

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Bad Bunny, real name Benito Martínez Ocasio, will star in Porto Rico, directed by rapper René Pérez (aka Residente). The film, which has been in development for about three years, will be based on and inspired by the story of José Maldonado Román, a man known as Águila Blanca or White Eagle who was integral in fighting Spanish colonialism in Puerto Rico in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The movie, which was described by the BBC as a “love letter” to the self-governing territory of the United States, will also star Viggo Mortensen and will see Birdman and The Revenant director Alejandro G. Iñárritu serve as executive producer.

“This film is a reaffirmation of who we are – told with the intensity and honesty that our history deserves,” Pérez recently told Deadline. “I have dreamed of making a film about my country since I was a child. Puerto Rico’s true history has always been surrounded by controversy.”

Norton also opened up about the upcoming project. “This film sits in a tradition of films we deeply love, from The Godfather to Gangs of New York, that both thrill us with visceral drama and iconic characters and eras while also forcing us to face up to the shadow story under the American narrative of idealism,” he explained in a statement. “Everybody knows what a poet of language and rhythm René is. Now they’re going to see what a visual visionary he is as well.”

“Bringing him and Bad Bunny together to tell the true story of Puerto Rico’s roots is going to be like a flame finding the stick of dynamite that’s been waiting for it,” the Fight Club actor added.

This isn’t the first time Bad Bunny has made an appearance on the big screen. He can be spotted making supporting appearances and cameos in F9, the Brad Pitt vehicle (no pun intended) Bullet Train, Happy Gilmore 2, and Darren Aronofsky’s latest Caught Stealing.

No release date just yet on this one, but hopefully there’s more news on the horizon for Benito fans.

Image credit: Neilson Barnard/Getty Images

Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.