Ice Cube has joined the cast of a forthcoming boxing biopic Flint Strong, alongside Ryan Destiny. The Universal Pictures release is based off of a documentary on Claressa “T-Rex” Shields, a Flint, Michigan native, who became the first American female boxer to win an Olympic gold medal in the sport.
Destiny will play the role of Shields, while Cube plays her boxing coach. The film follows Shields’ Olympic boxing dreams at age 17.
Shields went on to become an undisputed female middleweight champion, the first American boxer to win back-to-back Olympic gold medals, and one of only seven boxers in history to hold four boxing titles.
Berry Jenkins penned the film’s screenplay for Flint Strong. Jenkins, who won a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for Moonlight, will also produce the film with Michael De Luca and Elishia Holmes, through Michael De Luca Productions.
Rachel Morrison, who made history in 2018 as the first female cinematographer to be nominated for an Oscar, will make her feature film directorial debut with Flint Strong. Morrison’s cinematography credits include Mudbound, Fruitvale Station, Dope, and Black Panther.