Zoe Saldana has come aboard to star as the iconic singer in Nina, while David Oyelowo will star as her manager, Clifton Henderson, according to Hollywood Reporter.

Cynthia Mort wrote the script and has been attached as director for several years, even as Mary J. Blige came onto the project as star then moved on due to funding issues.

Those issues appear to be finally settled as the movie is due to begin production in Los Angeles October 16.

Mark Burton, Barnaby Thompson, Stuart Parr and Ben Latham Jones are producing.

Simone rose as a singer-songwriter in the 1950s and became involved in the civil rights movement in the 1960s, even advocating violence. Tax issues forced her to relocate to other countries, including France, where she passed away in 2003. Henderson was her assistant and manager later in life.