LaKeith Stanfield To Play Dennis Rodman In "48 Hours In Vegas"
LaKeith Stanfield Replaces Jonathan Majors As Dennis Rodman In “48 Hours In Vegas”
Dennis Rodman’s whirlwind of a bender is finally taking more steps toward the big screen… but not as originally planned.
The role of Rodman was initially given to Jonathan Majors, but two years after his assault conviction, it was recast with Lakeith Stanfield.
The Oscar nominee for Judas and the Black Messiah —who fans first fell in love with on Atlanta— Stanfield is excited to dig into the complexity of Rodman’s star power.
“I’m genuinely excited to help create an exhilarating, joyful work that both honors and thoughtfully examines the legacy of Rodman and fellow trailblazers,” Stanfield said in a statement to Deadline. “Those who moved to the beat of their own drum, undeterred by the obstacles placed before them, then and now.”
It’s dubbed 48 Hours In Vegas and is hinged on the perennial Bulls star’s wild party side and one bender in particular.
The 1997-98 Chicago Bulls were barreling towards completing their second three-peat in eight years when the midseason grind proved to be too much for Rodman, who needed to blow off some steam. With Phil Jackson’s blessing, he took a two-day vacation to Las Vegas, filled with debauchery and a Hulk Hogan linkup.
In typical Rodman form, he didn’t return on time after his two-day reprieve was up, and Michael Jordan had to hunt him down.
However, it was the reset Rodman needed, and it provided them with the fuel to win their final championship.
Jordan VanDina wrote the first draft of the screenplay, but he’s since been replaced by Rick Famuyiwa, who worked on The Mandalorian and Ahsoka.
The film will be produced by Lord Miller’s Phil Lord, Chris Miller, and Aditya Sood, and Rodman himself will serve as one of the executive producers.
It’ll be backed by Lionsgate, whose president, Erin Westerman, is excited to give Rodman’s uncanny personality a stage.
“Dennis Rodman is more than a basketball player, more than a personality—he’s an entire cultural phenomenon. His bold style and physical presence, combined with an iconic persona, created a larger-than-life impact on and off the court. There’ll never be another like him. LaKeith and the incredibly talented team on this film will bring the legend to life in this most extraordinarily unbelievable story.”
See social media’s reaction to the recasting below.
