The Giannis Antetokoumpo movie at Disney is coming together nicely.
Uche Agada will star as the NBA great in the film, . In addition, Yetide Badaki is joining the film as Veronica, Antetokounmpo’s mother, while Dayo Okeniyi will play Charles, his father.
The film is being developed by The Walt Disney Studios for Disney Plus. It was first announced as being in development back in 2019. The live-action film is inspired by the true story of Antetokounmpo’s life and family. Nigerian writer Akin Omotoso is directing it. Giannis Antetokounmpo will executive produce, while Bernie Goldmann will produce. Production will begin later this year in both Greece and the U.S.
The role will be Agada’s onscreen debut. He auditioned after seeing a screengrab on Instagram of an announcement about the open casting call from Antetokounmpo’s Twitter.
Badaki’s recent credits include playing Bilquis in all three seasons of the Starz adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s “American Gods” as well as a role on NBC’s hit drama series “This Is Us.” She has also starred in features such as “The Long Shadow,” “What We Found,” and “Chasing the Rain.” She is repped by Innovative Artists.
Okeniyi is also an NBC alum, having previously starred in the network’s cop drama series “Shades of Blue.” Elsewhere on TV, he appeared in the first season of the Apple drama “See” opposite Jason Momoa. He has starred in a number of features as well, including “The Hunger Games,” “Terminator Genisys,” “Runner Runner,” and “The Spectacular Now.”
While no trailer of the movie currently available, you can watch below Giannis make his acting debit in 2012, well before the NBA fame.
