B.B. King Estate Announces Official Biopic, Clears Up Wendell Pierce Confusion

The biopic is called "King of the Blues". No Imdb page yet.

https://variety.com/2020/film/news/bb-king-estate-official-biopic-wendell-pierce-confusion-1234815283/

An official biopic of iconic blues musician B.B. King is going into pre-production in 2021, Vassal Benford, chairman of King’s estate, tells Variety. This is a separate project from “The Thrill Is On,” which is a drama about King’s friendship with drummer Michael Zanetis starring Wendell Pierce as King.

Confusion first arose when “The Wire” and “Selma” actor Pierce announced that he would play King via Twitter on Oct. 19. “We are official. Preparation has begun on a film where I will be honored to play the great B.B. King,” Pierce wrote. This led many to assume he would be playing King in a biopic retelling the late singer-guitarist’s life story.

In a statement previously released by representatives for “The Thrill Is On,” the project is described to be a “friendship film.” The movie tells “the inspiring true story of how a chance meeting between Zanetis, a young musician, and B.B. King in 1980 led to King being the first blues artist to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1990,” according to the statement.