Will Ferrell set to star in new John Madden biopic

Will Ferrell is in talks to star in a new biopic about the legendary late NFL coach and broadcaster John Madden.

The, the film – simply titled Madden – is in the works at Prime Video Sports and will be directed by David O. Russell.

It will focus in the legendary coaching career of Madden, who co-created the huge video game series that bears his name for EA Sports in 1988.

What will the John Madden film be about?

According to a recent report from Deadline, Ferrell will star in the film, which comes from the five-time Oscar-nominated director. The movie, titled Madden, will be for Amazon/MGM, with Russell having been working on rewriting Cambron Clark’s script for some time before the writer’s strike shut down work on various Hollywood projects.

Madden will be produced by Escape Artists’ Todd Black, Jonathan Shukat, Jason Blumenthal, and Steve Tisch, the latter of whom is a co-owner of the NFL’s New York Giants. Deadline reports that the NFL is expected to “embrace” the film as well, although it’s unclear exactly what their promotion of the film will include.

“A Prime Video Sports Original, Madden tells the story of one of the larger-than-life personalities to grace an NFL sideline. All Madden ever wanted was to be a head coach and he was one of the best ever,” reads the logline for the film. “After winning the Super Bowl, the stress of the job began to destroy him. It forced him away from his dream job, and the film focuses on his friendship with Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis, and how Madden found a second act that made him far more famous. ”

Ferrell most recently starred in 2022’s Christmas musical comedy Spirited alongside Ryan Reynolds. Up next, he’s set to star in a voice role in 2023’s comedy film Strays, as well as appear as a Mattel CEO in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie.

A synopsis from Cambron Clark’s script reads: “After being forced into retirement by the Oakland Raiders, fiery former NFL head coach John Madden teams up with a mild-mannered Harvard programmer to rewrite his fading legacy by building the world’s first football video game.”

Elsewhere, Ferrell is set to play the Mattel CEO in the upcoming Barbie film. Set for release on July 21, the film is directed by Greta Gerwig and has been long-awaited by fans. Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling lead the cast, while others appearing include Helen Mirren as the narrator, Michael Cera as a character called Allan and singer Dua Lipa, who also shared a new song from the soundtrack titled ‘Dance The Night’ this week.

Last year, Will Ferrell played his signature cowbell at his son Magnus’ first live show. As Rolling Stone reports, Magnus and his band opened for Psychedelic Furs at a charity event in aid of Cancer For College. The organisation was founded by Will’s former roommate Craig Pollard, and “provides need-based college scholarships and educational experiences to cancer survivors”.

The set featured three original songs as well as a cover of Radiohead‘s 1992 single ‘Creep’. One of Magnus’ own tracks was ‘Back In Place’, which saw his actor dad nod to his ‘More Cowbell’ sketch from Saturday Night Live.