Fresh from hisSuper Bowlhalftime show,Bad Bunnyhas his sights set on a new stage entirely: the big screen.
First reported byDeadlineon February 18, Bad Bunny will star in a new feature film titledPorto Rico. The movie is directed by Grammy-winning rapper René Pérez Joglar, also known as Residente, and produced by Oscar-winning filmmakerAlejandro G. Iñárritu. Edward Norton, Viggo Mortensen, and Javier Bardem are slated to costar in what Deadline calls an "epic Caribbean western and historical drama."
The project will mark Bad Bunny's first time as a leading man after his supporting roles inBullet Train, released in 2022, andHappy Gilmore 2,which premiered on Netflix last summer.
Porto Ricohas been in development since 2023, when it was first touted as a drama based on 19th-century Puerto Rican revolutionary José Maldonado Román, called White Eagle. While it's unclear if the project is still based on Román, a new press release (quoted by Deadline) touts the film as a blend of "historical scope with a visceral, lyrical approach and a gripping narrative inspired by true events."
In a statement, Residente called the project a dream come true. "I have dreamed of making a film about my country since I was a child. Puerto Rico's true history has always been surrounded by controversy.... This film is a reaffirmation of who we are—told with the intensity and honesty that our history deserves."
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Deadline reports that Benito's costars Bardem, Norton, and Mortensen are inhabiting roles "connected to their respective origin countries," with Bardem a native of Spain and Norton and Mortensen both from the United States. Mortensen is fluent in Spanish, having lived in Venezuela and Argentina throughout his upbringing.
Norton describedPorto Ricoas hailing from the same storytelling styles as other landmark crime epics. "This film sits in a tradition of films we deeply love, fromThe GodfathertoGangs of New York, that both thrill us with visceral drama and iconic characters and eras while also forcing us to face up to the shadow story under the American narrative of idealism," the actor said in a quote given toDeadline. "Everybody knows what a poet of language and rhythm René is. Now they're going to see what a visual visionary he is as well. And bringing him and Bad Bunny together to tell the true story of Puerto Rico's roots is going to be like a flame finding the stick of dynamite that's been waiting for it."
Porto Ricowill not be the first time Bad Bunny and Residente have worked together. In 2019, the two collaborated on the songs "Bellacoso" and "Afilando Los Cuchillos," the latter of which was a political protest against former governor Ricardo Rosselló. In 2020, Bad Bunny appeared in the music video for Residente's song "Antes Que El Mundo Se Acabe."
Beyond starring as its leading man, it is unknown what role Bad Bunny will have inPorto Rico.He may portray José Maldonado Román, if the film is indeed a Román biopic. But the picture's themes of Puerto Rican nationalism and anticolonialism are squarely within his wheelhouse. The musician, who made history at the Grammys for the first Spanish-language record winning Album of the Year, is a pronounced social activist who uses music to bring attention to Puerto Rico's colonial history, economy, and conservation. At his Super Bowl show, Benitodressed up Levi's Stadiumto resemble his island home, with flickering lights symbolizing the withdrawal of federal funding that keeps its power grid weakened in the aftermath of hurricanes.
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