Dave Franco Set to Play 90s Rapper VANILLA ICE in Upcoming Biopic

Dave Franco, known for his roles in Now You See Me, Neighbors, The Disaster Artist, and 6 Underground, has signed on to play 90s rapper Vanilla Ice in an upcoming biopic. The film, titled To The Extreme after the musician’s 1990 debut album, was announced last year, and has been in development for some time. The logline for the film gives the following description:

From a high school dropout selling cars in Dallas to having the first hip-hop single to top the Billboard charts with 'Ice Ice Baby,' a young Vanilla Ice struggles with stardom, extortion attempts, and selling out as he makes music history.

The film is being written by Chris Goodwin and Phillip Van, in both of their feature writing debuts. The film has yet to find a director, but I think Franco is a great choice for the lead role. Franco told Insider that he is hoping to make a film that is a tribute to Vanilla Ice, aka Rob Van Winkle, akin to the film The Disaster Artist, which he and his brother made as a tribute to the making of Tommy Wiseau's film, The Room.

Franco said:

With that movie, people expected us to make a broad comedy where we make fun of Tommy Wiseau, but the more real we played it, the funnier and heartfelt it was — that's the tone we want for this one as well.

He went on to add that during the pandemic, he has been in talks with Van Winkle to discuss the role, saying:

Rob is such a sweet and intelligent guy and he's been super helpful in the process of getting all the details correct and making us privy to information the public doesn't know. Just talking to him I can't help but think about the rabbit holes I'm going to go down to get ready for the role.

I think this sounds like a really interesting movie. Besides liking a few of Vanilla Ice’s hits, I don’t know much about the guy, and I like a good biopic. Dave Franco is a great choice, and I think he will do the project justice. For now, there is no date set for production to begin, but we will keep you posted.

Are you looking forward to this movie?