Jeddah, Saudi Arabia — Entertainment icon Queen Latifah recently sat down with Deadline’s studio at the Red Sea International Film Festival, offering insights into a major upcoming project about her life and the potential return of her beloved character, Robyn McCall.
Latifah’s company, Flavor Unit Entertainment, is partnering with Westbrook Studios and Jesse Collins Entertainment to produce the biopic. This film is set to be the first in a slate of projects focusing on hip-hop’s most iconic stars. “We’ve partnered up to work with Westbrook [Studios] and Jesse Collins Entertainment…we figured we would create these,” Latifah revealed. “I’m going to be one of the first to do it. Will [Smith] is going to do his as well, and he’s also integral in my story.“
The biggest question surrounding the film remains casting. Latifah acknowledged the complexity of the role, given her decades-spanning career: “This is going to be big casting. I’ve been doing this since I was 17-years-old, but there was the lead up to it, so someone has to be able to play those different parts of it.” She shared that navigating early stardom was a challenge, feeling disconnected from her public persona. “I was like, there’s no way I can live up to this, this ‘Queen Latifah’, she’s a business, she’s much bigger than who I am. I had to come to grips with that.” The biopic is currently in the writing phase, and she stated, “We’re writing…it’s gonna take a minute.“
In addition to her film work, the star addressed the end of the CBS series The Equalizer, which she both starred in and executive produced for five seasons. The show recently concluded its run.
Latifah, who played the titular vigilante Robyn McCall, did not dismiss the possibility of seeing the character again. “When it comes to The Equalizer universe, anything is possible,” she remarked. She noted the deep personal connection she forged with the role: “I put a lot of who I am into Robyn McCall, so it’s definitely possible to see more iterations of who she is, different versions, maybe.” She confirmed she is currently “decompressing” after the series finale.