After having roles in Sony’s Bullet Train and Caught Stealing, Bad Bunny has officially set his first major film role.
He’ll star in the historical drama Porto Rico, which also stars Javier Bardem, Edward Norton and Viggo Mortensen.
Grammy-winning Puerto Rican rapper René Pérez Joglar, aka Residente, is making his feature directorial debut with the film, which is described as “epic Caribbean western” and “gripping narrative inspired by true events about Puerto Rico’s origins,” per Variety’s report.
The script was written by Pérez Joglar with Alexander Dinelaris, and Alejandro González Iñárritu is executive producing. The film is produced by Pérez Joglar and Erick Douât via 1868 Studios, the joint venture from Pérez Joglar, Sony Music Latin-Iberia and Sony Music Vision. Norton, Bill Migliore and Michael Bederman are also producing through Class 5 Films.
What the director and Edward Norton say about the film
“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,” Pérez Joglar said in a statement to Variety. “This film is a reaffirmation of who we are — told with the intensity and honesty that our history deserves.”
“This film sits in a tradition of films we deeply love, from The Godfather to Gangs of New York, that both thrill us with visceral drama and iconic characters and eras while also forcing us to face up to the shadow story under the American narrative of idealism,” said Norton. “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.”