Earlier this morning, I posted an entry in rememberance of Tupac Shakur's 1996 death (he died on this day, September 13, 1996, at a Las Vegas hospital, at age 25, 6 days after being fatally shot in a driveby shooting that remains unsolved).

In that post, I asked wondered whether Antoine Fuqua's Tupac project, which was greenlit by Morgan Creek Productions a couple of years ago, was dead.

Oscar-nominated screenwriters Stephen J. Rivele and Chris Wilkinson (for Ali & Nixon) had been hired to write the script, which would have reportedly centered on the last day of Tupac's life, and included flashback sequences that showed the previous years leading up to his death. 

The project had even begun casting last spring, with the plan being to go with mostly unknowns.

However, despite what seemed like forward motion on the project last year, nothing came from all that, and Fuqua eventually left the project and it was rumored that John Singleton replaced him, but that's been negated. Singleton was never attached to the project.

So where is it now? As of this morning, I had nothing to confirm the project's status, and assumed that it was probably dead, or indefinitely in Limbo.

A few hours after that post went live, I received an email from a trusted source who's alerted us to a few stories in the past, telling me that the project was still very much alive, adding that a production start date of some time in early 2013 was expected, with Morgan Creek still behind the project, and Wilkinson and Rivele still listed as screenwriters.

The source also noted that Afeni Shakur is co-producing the film.

Here's its official synopsis:

The film centers on the life and legacy of Tupac Shakur, from his emergence as a young artist, through his imprisonment, and last prolific years that catapulted him into the upper echelon of American cultural icons.

No director is attached yet, although one will be selected and announced soon, which will then be followed by casting.

Shooting will take place primarily in Atlanta.

Universal Pictures will release the film (Morgan Creek distributes its films domestically through a deal with Universal Pictures).

Stay tuned…