It’s 2022 and the rock ‘n’ roll biopic is not going anywhere. Following the trailer drop for Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis and the perplexing news that a Jackie Jormp-Jomp-style Billy Joel film is in the works with zero permission or participation from the Piano Man himself, it was announced on Friday that Netflix is developing a scripted series about Irish rock legends U2.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, J.J. Abrams is pivoting from his sci-fi and action comfort zone to create the series under his Bad Robot Productions banner. Anthony McCarten, the Oscar-nominated screenwriter behind The Theory of Everything and Bohemian Rhapsody, will be working on the script. The iconic band—made up of frontman Bono, beanie enthusiast and guitarist the Edge, bassist Adam Clayton, and drummer Larry Mullen Jr.—is said to be involved, though the nature of their participation has yet to be revealed.
Formed in Dublin in 1976, U2 is widely considered to be one of the greatest rock bands of all time, with hit songs like “With or Without You,” “Beautiful Day,” and “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.” They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005 and have won an impressive 22 Grammy Awards. If you (like myself) are not a fan of stadium rock, you may better know Bono from his voice work as the agoraphobic lion in the children’s movie Sing 2, or the embarrassing poem he recently wrote about Ukraine that Nancy Pelosi recited on St. Patrick’s Day.
