Chris Farley biopic in the works with Josh Gad

Los Angeles: A film on legendary American comedian Chris Farley is in development with actor-filmmaker Josh Gad as the director.

According to entertainment news outlet The Hollywood Reporter, Emmy-winning actor Paul Walter Hauser will star as Farley in the project, which is "Saturday Night Live!" creator Lorne Michaels will produce through his Broadway video banner.

Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber will pen the screenplay, based on the New York Times best-selling biography "The Chris Farley Show: A Biography in Three Acts by Tom Farley Jr. and Tanner Colby".

Farley was best known for his energetic and physical comedy style, and rose to fame as a cast member on "Saturday Night Live" in the early 1990s, where he created memorable characters like 'Matt Foley, Motivational Speaker'.

He then transitioned to films and starred in movies like "Tommy Boy" and "Black Sheep", before his untimely death due to a drug overdose in 1997 at the age of 33.

The project, which will mark Gad’s directorial debut, has the blessing of the Farley family.

Gad is best known for starring in Broadway musicals like "Book of Mormon" and "Gutenberg!", as well as movies like "Frozen", "Beauty and the Beast" and "Murder on the Orient Express".

Hauser’s film credits include “Richard Jewell”, “I, Tonya” and “Cruella”. He earned a Golden Globe and an Emmy for his role in the 2022 miniseries “Black Bird” opposite Taron Egerton.