The name Malcolm Butler will be remembered especially by New England Patriots fans, thanks to his game-winning interception in the final moments of Super Bowl XLIX 2 years ago, which pitted the Patriots against the Seattle Seahawks. Those same fans will have even more to celebrate the pro athlete with when a biopic on Butler is produced and eventually released.

Announced today, a proposed film, titled “The Secondary,” which will chronicle Butler’s journey from a Popeyes fryolator to a star NFL cornerback and two-time Super Bowl champion (all happening over only 3 short years) is in development via Narrative Capital (co-producer of the multiple Oscar-nominated “Lion”). The film will tell dual stories, adding Butler’s agent, Derek Simpson, a small-town lawyer who arranged for Butler to have a Patriots tryout and never gave up on him. He oversaw Butler’s quick rise to a successful football career while simultaneously fighting a commercial-trucking giant in court on behalf of a paralyzed teen.

Narrative Capital chief Daniel Levin has acquired life rights to both Butler’s and Simpson’s stories, seeing the potential that the undrafted Butler’s against-all-odds story (similar to that of “Lion’s”) has as a big screen success.

No ETA on “The Secondary” at this time.

The 26-year-old Butler was an undrafted free agent who played collegiate football at the University of West Alabama. On May 19, 2014, Butler signed with the New England Patriots after going undrafted in the 2014 NFL Draft.
The Hollywood Reporter was first to report the biopic news.

Narrative Capital

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