Jake Paul, the former influencer turned professional boxer, is adding one more title to his multi-hyphenate status: filmmaker.
Paul is set to make a feature-length drama about combat sports produced by Mandalay Pictures and Wonder Street. He will star as a small-town youth who finds international fame as a boxer.
“Like many other superstar content creators, Jake cracked the code to attract an audience that generates hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue while also delivering his story in a way that connects directly with audiences of all ages,” Mandalay Pictures producer David Zelon told NBC News in a statement on Thursday.
Zelon and Wonder Street’s Craig Baumgarten are producing the project. Paul and Nakisa Bidarian will serve as executive producers.
This is not Paul’s first foray into acting. The social media star was previously cast in the Disney Channel show “Bizaardvark” alongside singer Olivia Rodrigo. However, Paul departed the show midway through the second season amid some backlash over his influencer collective Team 10’s unruly behavior toward neighbors.
Paul and his brother Logan rose to fame on the defunct social platform Vine with their comedic shorts. When the platform shut down, the Paul brothers both pivoted to YouTube, where Jake made a name for himself by creating daily vlogs, diss tracks and his collective Team 10.
Paul began boxing in 2018 and left YouTube a year later to focus on the sport. He has since founded a boxing promotional company called Most Valuable Promotions in 2021 and returned to YouTube with weekly videos.
Paul tweeted the news out on Tuesday, saying “It was all a dream…”
In a statement, Paul said, “I couldn’t be more excited to work with such talented and experienced teams. As someone who has always believed in pushing boundaries and taking risks, I can’t wait to bring this unique story and my brand to the big screen. This is just the beginning of an exciting new chapter in my career.”
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