Tiffany Haddish is taking inspiration from Olympic history for her next role. The “Girls Trip” breakout will leave her competition in the dust in an as-yet untitled biopic about track and field icon Florence Griffith Joyner, AKA Flo-Jo. The Hollywood Reporter confirmed the news.
“Joyner took the sports world by storm in the 1980s thanks to being the fastest woman on the planet and a flashy style, culminating in record-setting sprints in the 100m and 200m races at the 1988 Summer Olympics,” the source details. Joyner died at the age of 38 from an epileptic seizure.
Haddish is joining forces with sports content studio Game1 for the project, which she is also producing. She has already kicked off her training schedule for the film, and is working with Joyner’s widower and former coach, Al Joyner — who is also producing and serving as a creative consultant on the biopic — to prepare for the role.
“I am looking forward to telling Flo-Jo’s story the way it should be told,” said Haddish. “My goal with this film is making sure that younger generations know my ‘she-ro’ Flo-Jo, the fastest woman in the world to this day, existed.”
Al Joyner added, “Working with Tiffany has been a great pleasure — she is incredibly dedicated, focused, and committed to portraying the spirit of Florence accurately, whose legacy of making a difference in the world will live on for generations to come. I hope that this film touches all who see it and inspires people to be the change the world so desperately needs right now!”
A writer isn’t attached yet, and no word about a director.
Besides the biopic, Haddish and Game1 are also planning to collaborate on “companion content, including a documentary series and a podcast,” the source notes.
Haddish was last seen in “Here Today.” “Bad Trip” and “Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker” are also among her recent credits. She and Ali Wong will reprise their roles as bird BFFs in Season 2 of “Tuca & Bertie,” which is switching homes from Netflix to Adult Swim.
Other films about athletes on our radar include Olivia Wilde’s “Perfect,” a drama that revisits how gymnast Kerri Strug overcame the odds — and an injury — at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, and a biopic of Fallon Fox, the first openly trans MMA fighter.
