Hulu has found the leading man for its upcoming series, Iron Mike. Trevante Rhodes will take on the task of portraying the iconic heavyweight champion Mike Tyson in the eight-episode limited series. Stepping into the spotlight is nothing new for Rhodes, he has appeared in Moonlight, Bird Box, Westworld, The United States vs. Billie Holiday, Burning Sands and The Predator. However, this will be his first time leading a series as opposed to a film.
Behind the scenes, the series is being led by Steven Rogers and Karin Gist. Rogers is best known for his work on a film called I, Tonya that explores the life of former Olympic skater Tonya Harding. He also contributed to Kate & Leopold and P.S. I Love You. Meanwhile, Gist has worked on a number of successful shows including Girlfriends, One Tree Hill, House of Lies, Grey's Anatomy and Revenge.
Unfortunately, Tyson will not participate in the Hulu series. In February, he distanced himself from the project, calling it "cultural misappropriation." Instead, he partnered with Antoine Fuqua and Martin Scorcese to develop a series about himself starring Jamie Foxx.
“Hulu’s announcement to do an unauthorized miniseries of my life, although unfortunate, isn’t surprising,” Tyson stated.
“This announcement on the heels of social disparities in our country is a prime example of how Hulu’s corporate greed led to this tone-deaf cultural misappropriation of the Tyson life story."
Despite pushback from Tyson and his representatives, Hulu hopes to have the series up and in the works by the end of the year. In the meantime, Hulu will chronicle the life of Tyson by serving as the streaming home of ABC's The Knockout documentary.
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