Fresh off a Grammy Win and a Super Bowl Halftime performance for the ages, Bad Bunny is stepping into a new spotlight. The Puerto Rican music star is set to lead the historical drama Porto Rico, adding to his movie repertoire after scene-stealing turns in Bullet Train, Caught Stealing and Happy Gilmore 2. Here's all the important details.
Who is involved?
Bad Bunny will star alongside an iconic trio: Edward Norton, Javier Bardem and Viggo Mortensen. Norton is also producing through Class 5 Films, the company behind titles including The Painted Veil, Motherless Brooklyn and By the People: The Election of Barack Obama.
Also behind the camera is René Pérez Joglar, the Grammy-winning Puerto Rican rapper known as Residente, who is directing Porto Rico in his feature debut. And the script is co-written with Alexander Dinelaris, the Oscar-winning writer behind Birdman and The Revenant.
Production will be overseen by Pérez Joglar and Erick Douât via 1868 Studios — a joint venture between Pérez Joglar, Sony Music Latin-Iberia and Sony Music Vision — with backing from Live Nation Studios and Class 5 Films.
What is it about?
Described as an “epic Caribbean western,” Porto Rico will explore the origins of Puerto Rico with a narrative inspired by true events. While an official logline is still under wraps, the film is positioned as a visceral story that interrogates the island’s complex and often contested history.
Speaking about the project, Pérez Joglar said, “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. This film is a reaffirmation of who we are — told with the intensity and honesty that our history deserves.”
Also giving us some hints on what to expect, Norton said, “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. And 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.”
