Tupac Shakur Biopic: John Singleton Leaves Project to Make Own Film About Rapper

Director John Singleton announced yesterday, April 8, that he would not be working on Morgan Creek's biopic of Tupac Shakur. Instead, the filmmaker has decided to go off on his own and create a project about the life of one of the world's greatest rappers. Carl Franklin will replace Singleton for the Morgan Creek biopic, Billboard noted.

"The reason I am not making this picture is because the people involved aren't really respectful of the legacy of Tupac Amaru Shakur," Singleton, who directed the rapper in 1993's Poetic Justice, wrote on Instagram. "I won't say much if you want you can read my articles in Hollywood Reporter on authenticity in Black Storytelling...To Pac's real fans just know I am still planning a movie on Tupac...It doesn't matter what they do mines will be better."

He continued by relaying his admiration for the hip-hop artist, who was shot to death in 1996.

"Tupac was much more than a hip hop artist...He was a black man guided by his passions...Of most importance was his love of black people and culture...Something the people involved in this movie know nothing about...Real talk!" he added.

Singleton went on to criticize Morgan Creek for the ongoing legal battle with the rapper's mother to obtain the rights to his story. The director ended his note saying that he would simply make his own film.

The director currently has an open schedule to make the competing flick. According to IMDb, Singleton's last project was directing an episode of Fox's critically acclaimed series Empire. His film history includes 1991's Boyz N the Hood and 2005's Four Brothers.

Franklin's recent directing gigs include episodes of shows like Netflix's Bloodline and House of Cards, as well as Showtime's Homeland. He has directed feature films such as 1995's Devil in a Blue Dress and 2003's Out of Time.

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Tupac Shakur