Are we finally going to be seeing a rock opera about the man known as St. Jimmy? After more than ten years, it looks like a movie based on Green Day's album American Idiot is actually going to happen. The project has been in development for quite some time, but according to the band's lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong the project now has some real traction, as well as a home at HBO.

Word on the project has been pretty quiet for a while, but now we have some pretty solid and encouraging details. Assuming you are one of the people who want to see this movie happen, that is. Billie Joe Armstrong recently did an interview with NME and revealed that HBO has given the American Idiot movie a green light. Here is what he had to say about it.

"That's the plan right now, yeah. We've got a green light from HBO, and the script is currently going through a couple of rewrites here and there, so I'm not sure when exactly we're going to start shooting, but it's definitely all systems go at the moment."

Billie Joe Armstrong briefly played the character of St. Jimmy during the Broadway run of the American Idiot musical and word has it he will be playing the character in the movie. There has been talk of a movie based on the band's 2004 album of the same name for quite some time now, with Tom Hanks' production company developing the project back in 2011. That eventually fell through and now it looks like HBO has stepped up to the plate and is going to give American Idiot a try.

Prior to the release of American Idiot, Green Day had lost some relevance in the mainstream, but the album was a massive hit and relaunched their career. The album has sold more than 15 million copies worldwide. American Idiot is a rock opera that tells the story of an adolescent anti-hero who is disillusioned with the society he is growing up in, which was shaped by events like the Iraq War. The album was eventually turned into a very well received Broadway musical, which is what ultimately led to initial discussions for a movie adaptation.

HBO has yet to comment on the matter and Billie Joe Armstrong didn't give any word on an anticipated timeline for the American Idiot movie. Some may find it a little self-indulgent for Billie Joe Armstrong to star in the movie, but he does have some acting experience. He recently starred in the movie Ordinary World, which is set to be released on October 14. Playwright Rolin Jones was at one point writing the screenplay for American Idiot, but it is unclear if he is the one doing the rewrites that Billie Joe Armstrong mentioned in the interview. Green Day just dropped their new album Revolution Radio, so perhaps the timing will help give the project some traction.