Jasmine Mathews (The Tomorrow War, The Rookie), Sonja Sohn (Star Trek: Discovery, The Wire), John Magaro (Call Jane, The Many Saints of Newark), and Shein Mompremier (Black Lightning) have joined the cast of director George Tillman Jr.'s untitled biopic of legendary two-time world heavyweight champion George Foreman (The Hate U Give, Notorious).
They will join previously confirmed cast members Khris Davis, Sullivan Jones, and Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker.
The film will chronicle Foreman's incredible life and times, from Olympic Gold Medalist to World Heavyweight Champion, to the Rumble in the Jungle bout with Muhammad Ali in Zaire, to finding his faith, retiring, and becoming a preacher. When his family and church face financial difficulties, he returns to the ring and reclaims the heavyweight title at the age of 45, becoming the oldest heavyweight champion in boxing history.
The screenplay was written by Tillman Jr. and Frank Baldwin from an original draft by Dan Gordon, with Peter Guber and David Zelon producing for Mandalay Pictures. The roles that the newest additions to the cast will play have not been revealed. The film is set to hit theaters on April 7, 2023.
Mathews was most recently seen in Chris McKay's sci-fi drama The Tomorrow War, in which he co-starred with Chris Pratt. She was also recently seen in a recurring role on ABC's The Rookie and was previously a series regular on the Starz drama Sweetbitter, which is based on Stephanie Danler's best-selling novel. The actress will next be seen in Patrick Hughes' assassin film The Man from Toronto, opposite Kevin Hart and Woody Harrelson.
Sohn's filmography includes Steven Soderbergh's High Flying Bird, Star Trek: Discovery, The Chi, Utopia, Luke Cage, and the critically acclaimed HBO series The Wire. She'll next be seen in James Rowe's thriller Breakwater, alongside Mena Suvari and Dermot Mulroney.
Magaro's most recent credits include The Sopranos prequel film The Many Saints of Newark, Eugene Ashe's Emmy-nominated Amazon romance Sylvie's Love, starring Tessa Thompson, and Phyllis Nagy's Sundance film Call Jane. The actor will soon be seen in the Showtime series Super Pumped, and he has previously appeared in Orange Is the New Black and The Umbrella Academy. First Cow, Overlord, Marshall, War Machine, The Finest Hours, The Big Short, Carol, Captain Phillips, Not Fade Away, and Liberal are among his other cinematic credits.
