After a big casting search, Lashana Lynch has been tapped to play Bob Marley’s wife Rita in the upcoming biopic opposite Kingsley Ben-Adir.
According to Deadline, the actress has been tapped to play Bob Marley’s wife, Rita, in an untitled Bob Marley biopic for Paramount. In addition to Lynch, One Night in Miami, Kingsley Ben-Adir has been set to portray the legendary musician with Reinaldo Marcus Green serving as director.
When it came time to find the right person to play Rita Marley, producers were on the lookout for someone who was of Jamaican decent, but also connected with Kingsley Ben-Adir during chemistry reads.
Lynch checked off both of those boxes. Not only could she do a Jamaican accent (was born in England but her family comes from Jamaica), but the actress aced several chemistry tests. She also won over execs, as well as Rita herself and the Marley family, who all gave their blessing to the casting.
The upcoming biopic marks Lynch's latest project.
She recently starred in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films Captain Marvel (2019) and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022). She also gave quite the performance in the most recent James Bond film, No Time to Die. Later this year, she’ll be seen in Sony’s The Woman King with Viola Davis as well as Netflix’s Matilda adaptation, where she plays Miss Honey.
