Trailer released of Bob Marley's first biopic ahead of 2024 kick-off

The first trailer for the upcoming biopic for reggae king Bob Marley was released by Paramount Studios on Thursday, and anticipation is high for it to be in theatres on January 12, 2024.

Entitled 'Bob Marley: One Love', the film is set to trace the life of the late reggae legend. It's the first time his life's work is being featured cinematically.

Staring British actor Kingsley Ben-Adir as Marley, the trailer opens with the lyric, 'A hope you like Jammin' too,' which is a line from Marley’s hit 'Jammin'.

It then transcends to a concert scene with fans waving flags as Marley takes the stage. Then it moves to a scene where Marley is inside a studio with his all-female backing group, the I-Threes, including his wife, Rita Marley, who is played by actress Lashana Lynch.

"Reggae is the people's music," said Ben-Adair as Bob Marley.

Scenes of the biopic, as evidenced by the trailer, were filmed at the actual places where Marley walked, like Culture Yard in Trench Town, a renovated tenement setting where he and his family once lived in Jamaica.

The film also highlights areas in the country where the reggae legend played football and sang.

Interestingly, the biopic covers a turbulent, yet fruitful period in Marley's life, starting with the assassination attempt on his life in December 1976, to his 18-month stay in the United Kingdom, where he recorded the epic Exodus album.

In fact, one of the more powerful scenes from the trailer portrays the shootout at Marley's home where both him and his wife were targeted.

An interviewer can then be heard asking Marley, "Bob, they tried to kill you and your wife, and now you're choosing to return to Jamaica to play at a concert?

"Don't you fear for your life?" the male mystery voice asked Marley further.

The scene then moves a year later, capturing elements of Marley's stay in the United Kingdom during what some have dubbed his time in "exile" from Jamaica.

Marley, however, made a triumphant return to Jamaica in 1978 for the One Love Peace Concert at the National Stadium.

"My life is not important to me... My life is fi people," Marley said in response to the question relative to fearing for his own life on returning to Jamaica.

Work on the film, which was directed by American Reinaldo Marcus Green, began in London in late 2021.

According to Paramount, it was produced in partnership with the Marley family, including the icon's children, Ziggy and daughter Cedella, as well as his widow, Rita.

Paramount, in the trailer's description, said the film represents, "for the first time on the big screen, Bob's powerful story of overcoming adversity and the journey behind his revolutionary music."

Already many persons on social media have been describing the trailer as "powerful", and described Ben-Adir's acting as seemingly "authentic".

By the responses, it appears persons are keen on getting a glimpse of history with Marley's story being brought to life in film.