Chris Rock to direct Martin Luther King Jr. biopic, with Steven Spielberg producing

Chris Rock and Steven Spielberg are bringing the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. back to the big screen.

Universal Pictures has optioned the rights to adapt Jonathan Eig's best-selling biography King: A Life, and Rock is in final negotiations to direct and produce the biopic, EW has confirmed. The project is being produced Spielberg's Amblin Partners, and the acclaimed filmmaker is on board as an executive producer. Deadline Hollywood first reported the news.

Published in May, King: A Life has been longlisted for this year's National Book Award for nonfiction and hailed as the "new definitive biography" of the iconic civil rights activist by the New York Times. It uses new primary sources and recently declassified FBI files to paint a picture of a man who was a leader and also an individual who had his own doubts and struggles.

Jason Merritt/Getty Images; Bettmann Archive/Getty Images Chris Rock is in final talks to direct a biopic about Martin Luther King Jr.

This isn't Rock's first brush with King's story: He's set to star in Rustin later this year, which dramatizes the life of Bayard Rustin, the organizer of the 1963 March on Washington, where King made his "I Have a Dream" speech that has resonated across generations. Rock plays NAACP leader Roy Wilkins in Rustin, while King is played by Aml Ameen.

King's life and activism have been the subject of numerous documentary and dramatic projects over the years, with examples of the latter including Selma, Boycott, and The Boy King.

Though best known as an actor and comedian, Rock has previously directed the films Top Five, I Think I Love My Wife, and Head of State, and a couple of episodes of his TV show Everybody Hates Chris.

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