Tyrese Gibson is set to play R&B icon in his biopic.

Pendergrass broke into the music scene in the 1970s as the frontman of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes and went on to see success as a soloist. But a near-fatal car accident in 1982 left him paralysed from the chest down.

After his recovery, the music artiste learned to sing from scratch and made an emotional return to the stage at the historic Live Aid concert in London in 1985. He performed for two decades, retired in 2007, and died in 2010.

Gibson, who is also attached to produced, said he is honoured to take this journey.

"This is the role that I feel I was born to play. embraced me and before he passed, put the responsibility on my shoulders to tell his story... Teddy, I just hope we make you, your wife and family proud," the actor said.

Little Marvin is writing the screenplay with Donald De Line and Lee Daniels serving as co-producers.

Director is yet to be locked and so are the title and release date.

Pendergrass' wife, Joan Pendergrass, is on board as an executive producer.

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