Sir Mick to bring the Godfather of Soul to the silver screen.

The James Brown biopic that Mick Jagger was on board to produce last year has been given the green light now that an actor has been cast in the lead role.

Chadwick Boseman, who plays baseball player Jackie Robinson in this year’s sports biopic 42, will be stepping into Brown’s shoes under the direction of Tate Taylor, who adapted the bestselling novel The Help into an Oscar-winning film in 2011. Taylor is said to be considering casting the stars of that film – Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer and Nelsan Ellis – in supporting roles alongside Boseman.

The film, which will chart Brown’s early years and rise to fame, has a script by British playwright Jez Butterworth, writer of acclaimed stage plays Mojo and Jerusalem, and his brother John-Henry. Mick Jagger will also appear in the film – portrayed by an actor, that is, along with his bandmate Keith Richards and rock and roll god Little Richard. [via NME; Telegraph]

Brown’s posthumous career continued on the soundtrack of Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained last year, which included a mash-up of  ‘The Payback’ with Tupac’s ‘Untouchable’.