Masked singer
Shazam! actor will take the field as the St. Louis Rams quarterback in a new movie from the writer of Friday Night Lights.
Zachary Levi is tackling a major NFL player’s life story for his next big-screen outing.
The Shazam! actor will take the cinematic field as former quarterback Kurt Warner in American Underdog, a faith-based biopic about the National Football League Hall of Famer’s rise to national stardom playing for teams like the St. Louis Rams and the Arizona Cardinals.
Lionsgate and Kingdom Story Company announced Wednesday that Levi will team with directors Jon and Andrew Erwin to adapt Warner’s memoir All Things Possible: My Story of Faith, Football, and the First Miracle Season for the big screen, with Friday Night Lights writer David Aaron Cohen, Jon Gunn (I Still Believe), and Jon Erwin co-writing.
The film will also take inspiration from Warner’s various interviews over the years as it tells the story of his early life stocking shelves at a local supermarket to becoming a two-time NFL MVP and Super Bowl champion.
“Kurt’s story is one of relentless faith – in his own abilities but even more so in a higher power,” said Levi in a press statement. “When I read Kurt’s story, I identified with the quiet strength he found to persevere – that’s something I think anybody can recognize in their own lives. This is the kind of underdog story that sports movies are all about, and the fact that it’s true makes it even more special. I’m thrilled to be part of bringing his story to audiences.”
In addition to American Underdog, Levi is also set to star in the superhero sequel Shazam 2 and the music-driven family comedy Undercover, about a down-on-his-luck ex-rocker, Jack, who joins a group of young musicians in a wedding cover band led by an outcast named Ben (Riverdale’s Cole Sprouse).
Production on American Underdog: The Kurt Warner Story is expected to begin later this year.
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