The first trailer for Bob Marley: One Love reveals an MCU star's transformation into the titular reggae legend. From King Richard director Reinaldo Marcus Green, the musical biopic chronicles the life and career of the legendary singer/songwriter, Bob Marley, from his rise to fame to his death during the early 1980s. The Bob Marley movie cast includes Kingsley Ben-Adir (who stars in Marvel Studios' Secret Invasion) alongside Lashana Lynch as Rita Marley, Jesse Cilio as Norval Marley, James Norton as record producer Chris Blackwell, Michael Gandolfini, Nadine Marshall, and Anthony Welsh.
Paramount Pictures released the first teaser trailer for Bob Marley: One Love. Check it out below:
Featuring the famous Marley songs "Jamming" and "Exodus," the trailer reveals Ben-Adir's transformation into the icon during various stages of his life from his roots in Jamaica to his rise to global fame. The emotional centerpiece of the trailer is the assassination attempt on Marley's life which severely injured his wife Rita (Lynch). The trailer ends by emphasizing Marley's overall message of peace – "One love, one heart, one destiny."
Is Bob Marley: One Love The Next Big Musical Biopic?
The musical biopic, which rides off the name recognition of its subject, is a genre that has become increasingly popular in Hollywood in recent decades. However, it is also one that is hit-or-miss. Walk the Line, Bohemian Rhapsody, Rocketman, and Elvis are examples of entries into the genre that were big office successes and showered with attention during award season. There are also some recent entries, like Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody, which received mixed reviews from critics and failed to make an impression at the box office.
Ben-Adir has already received critical acclaim for his performance as Malcolm X in One Night in Miami, so his second portrayal of a revolutionary figure in Bob Marley: One Love should result in similar reactions, and perhaps his first Oscar nomination. Green's last film, King Richard, was responsible for landing Will Smith his first Oscar win on the night the infamous slap occurred. Due to the director and actor's track records, it's likely Bob Marley: One Love will join the recent list of hit musical biopics rather than the misses.
Source: Paramount Pictures
