ICYMI: Oregon commit to play LeBron James; Juwan Howard's son cast as Carmelo Anthony for 'Shooting Stars' biopic about 'The King'
The cast for LeBron James' upcoming biopic titled "Shooting Stars" has been announced. James will be played by Marquis "Mookie” Cook, a five-star high school player committed to the Oregon Ducks. Meanwhile, Juwan Howard's son is set to play LeBron James' LA Lakers teammate Carmelo Anthony.
According to Yahoo! Sports, Cook is ranked second among forwards in the nation and will play for Oregon next season. His co-star will be Caleb McLaughlin of "Stranger Things" as Dru Joyce III, one of James' best friends and teammates with St. Vincent-St. Mary.
McLaughlin has been a mainstay in "Stranger Things," where he portrays Lucas Sinclair. He won a 2017 SAG Award for the Netflix TV series. Meanwhile, Cook stands 6' 7" and weighs 200 pounds, the same as James when the latter was a senior in high school.
According to the @THR, five-star Oregon commit Marquis "Mookie" Cook is set to star as Young Lebron James in the upcoming film "Shooting Stars"
@DSArivals | @marquiscookk | @KingJames https://t.co/AGKvRGItgI
The rest of St. Vincent-St. Mary's "Fab Five" has also been cast. Khalil Everage of "Cobra Kai" will play Sian Cotton, Avery Wills as Willie McGree and NBA G League Ignite's Scoot Henderson as Romeo Travis. "Show Me A Hero" actress Natalie Paul will play LeBron James' mother, Gloria, while Katlyn Nichol will play Savannah James.
Dermot Mulroney was cast as coach Keith Dambrot. The son of Michigan coach Juwan Howard, Jett, will play Carmelo Anthony. An image of Jett and Cook portraying James and Anthony, respectively, surfaced on the internet, recreating their famous photo when St. Vincent-St. Mary faced Oak Hill Academy.
Other details on LeBron James' biopic
LeBron James' biopic titled "Shooting Stars" started filming on April 18 and will end on June 2. The film will be shot in parts of Cleveland and Akron, Ohio. It's based on James' 2009 autobiography co-written with Buzz Bissinger of the same name.
"Shooting Stars" was announced in 2018, but filming only started last month. The biopic will be shown on the streaming site Peacock sometime next year, as reported by Britta Devore of Collider.
It's also the first film produced under the partnership between James' SpringHill Company and NBC Universal. The two entities agreed to a four-year deal in September 2020.
Breaking News: @PeacockTV Announces First Slate of Original Films @IAB #NewFronts22 Including "Praise This" @willpackerprods, "Shooting Stars" @KingJames @mavcarter, and "The Killer" @TheJohnWoo https://t.co/jJGTXMF0r2
According to Joey Morono of Cleveland.com, "Shooting Stars" is expected to generate an estimated $25.5 million in the cities of Cleveland and Akron. The film biopic is directed by Chris Robinson and executively produced by Maverick Carter, Terence Winter and Rachel Winter.
Casting director Angela Boehm told Natasha Dye of People Magazine last month that they want to stay true to James' story. "The King" was already a popular player in high school before getting drafted into the NBA. There, he became a four-time champion and one of the greatest basketball players ever. Boehm said:
"We want to stay very true to LeBron's story. We are looking to create the atmosphere of what his story looked like. Cheerleaders, band members, stadium fans, librarians, cafeteria workers, all of it."
Young LeBron & Melo in the upcoming movie SHOOTING STARS
LeBron: Mookie Cook
Melo: Jett Howard
Dru Joyce II: Wood Harris
Dru Joyce III: Caleb McLaughlin
Illya McGee: Algee Smith
Willie McGee: Avery Wills
Romeo: Scoot Henderson
Sian: Khalil Everage
Savannah: Katlyn Nichol https://t.co/M6Ig5dSVpO