Over the weekend, director Lee Daniels and producer Oprah Winfrey confirmed that Mike Epps has been set to star as legendary comedian Richard Pryor in the upcoming biopic Richard Pryor: Is It Something I Said?. Take a look at the tweets from the director and producer below, then read on for more details.

We reported earlier this month that Mike Epps had emerged as the front runner for this coveted role, ahead of other actors such as Nick Cannon, Michael B. Jordan and Marlon Wayans.

Ironically, both Marlon Wayans and Mike Epps had been cast as Richard Pryor in earlier versions of this project. In 2005, when Richard Pryor was still alive, the comedian hand-picked Mike Epps to play him over Damon Wayans, because the comedian didn't want an established star to play him on the big screen. When Richard Pryor passed away later in 2005, the project, which originally had Walter Hill set to direct, fell apart.

A different version of the movie was set up at Adam Sandler's Happy Madison company, which had Bill Condon set to direct and Marlon Wayans attached to star. Bill Condon is still involved in Richard Pryor: Is It Something I Said? as the screenwriter, although Lee Daniels has taken over the directorial duties, with Oprah Winfrey slated to produce. It isn't known when production will begin.