For almost a decade, the Mike Tyson biopic Finding Mike has been in development, with actor Jamie Foxx set to play the lead role. While recent years have seen Foxx getting ripped for the role, the project’s status has still been a hot topic for discussion. As the Back in Action actor continues his recovery from a recent health scare, Tyson has weighed in on what might be going on with this potential movie.
During a guest spot on the PBD Podcast, the legendary boxer spoke with host Patrick Bet-David and his panel about many facets of his entertainment career. With Jamie Foxx attached to Tyson’s biopic since 2014, it's been quite some time since the world was initially alerted to the pair teaming up. As of this moment, here's where Iron Mike sees the progress of his cinematic life story:
Well, [the movie] was a possibility. I don’t know what’s gonna happen now. But, you know, it’s a strong possibility. Because, you know, Jamie’s closer to my age, so in order to do him, they were going to do what they did with ‘Benjamin Button.’ You remember that?
At the very least, the approach of turning Jamie Foxx into the younger Mike Tyson has remained the same when it comes to Finding Mike. There also seems to be a strong current of interest between Foxx and Tyson when it comes to making the film a reality. With de-aging technology being as advanced as it is today, the bright side of Finding Mike’s prolonged development is that it’ll look better than it potentially would have if it had gone into production when it was originally intended.
Unfortunately, the reality of the situation is that this project will depend heavily on how the Spider-Man: No Way Home actor’s condition improves throughout his convalescence. While that front seems promising thanks to daughter Corinne Foxx’s previous update on Jamie’s recovery, the mysterious circumstances have seen some rumors potentially clearing up what exactly happened.
Over a month after the hospitalization of Jamie Foxx was reported, Mike Tyson shared speculation of a stroke being the cause for Foxx’s health woes. That still has not been confirmed by any sources in the camp of the Academy Award-winning actor, so for now it’s still just a rumor of concern expressed by a friend and collaborator.
All anyone knows at this point is that Mr. Foxx is still on the road to recovery, and he appreciates the love that his fans, friends, and family have sent his way. Should he be able to do so, seeing him take part in Finding Mike would be the realization of the creative dream shared between himself and Mike Tyson. The results could be spectacular, especially if that performance is on the same level as that of Foxx’s lead role in Ray.
For now, we’ll just have to wait and see what new updates come from Jamie Foxx’s wellness journey. In the meantime, fans of the actor's work have two new movie releases to look forward to in 2023! Foxx can next be seen and heard respectively in They Cloned Tyrone, which will premiere on Netflix starting July 14th, and the CGI/live-action comedy Strays, which has been pushed to a new opening date of August 18th.
