Deadline reported on Thursday that Jonah Hill will portray Jerry García for Apple TV Plus’ upcoming biopic about the Grateful Dead, with Martin Scorsese set to direct.
In addition to playing the Grateful Dead’s frontman, Hill will produce the untitled project. The film already has the support and participation of the band members and their managers. Fans of the band will be excited to hear their music catalogue in the film.
As of now, plot details are unknown. But we can guess from pop culture (and the modern Dead and Co.) that the movie might surround the groups formation in the ’60s.
The Grateful Dead are a symbol for the psychedelic counterculture that came to popularity at the time, and it’s sure they’ll have plenty of stories to tell. With Scorsese on board, it should be a true “cinematic masterpiece.”
Martin Scorsese can be trusted in maintaining the Dead’s legacy, as he has a long history of directing and producing rock documentaries. His last project actually centered on the Dead, called “Long Strange Trip” on Amazon Prime. However, this marks the first time the director treads in musical biopic territory.
This will be the second collaboration between Jonah Hill and Martin Scorsese, since their first in “The Wolf of Wall Street.” Hill of course couldn’t pass up an opportunity to play such an iconic figure and I’m not arguing, both García and Hill have such a huggable and warm persona!
