Bad Bunny and Javier Bardem to star in film about a revolutionary from Puerto Rico

Puerto Rican rapper René Pérez Joglar, known as Residente, is preparing his feature-length directorial debut. His first film will be titled Puerto Rico, a large-scale historical drama described as a “Caribbean western”.

Bad Bunny received the main role in the film. The cast also includes Viggo Mortensen (Captain Fantastic, Green Book), Edward Norton (American History X, Fight Club, Birdman, The French Dispatch), and Javier Bardem (Live Flesh, The Sea Inside, Goya’s Ghosts, Vicky Cristina Barcelona). Executive producer duties will be handled by multiple Oscar winner Alejandro González Iñárritu, director of The Revenant and Birdman.

Residente co-wrote the screenplay with Alexander Dinelaris, one of the writers of Birdman. Earlier reports suggested that Puerto Rico would centre on the story of Puerto Rican revolutionary José Maldonado Román, nicknamed “The White Eagle”, who fought colonial powers in the late 19th century with a band of former prisoners. However, the final version of the story is being kept secret. The creators promise a sweeping historical film “with a piercing, lyrical approach and gripping storytelling based on real events”.

“I’ve dreamed of this moment my entire life. I started writing this story many years ago, between tours, meetings and break-ups, successes and mistakes. I’ll be honest, it wasn’t easy at all. And I believe this is the most ambitious project of my entire career: all the artistic elements come together in one space,” Residente wrote on social media.

He also thanked Bad Bunny for agreeing to take on the lead role. Residente said he was not looking for an actor, but for someone “who feels Puerto Rico as deeply” as he does, and who shares the same pride “when singing our true anthem”.

The project is being produced by 1868 Studios (founded by Residente together with Sony Music), Class 5 Films and Live Nation Studios. International sales are being handled by UTA Independent Film Group.