Lee Daniels has finally found his Richard Pryor!
Daniels, who will direct a biopic about the life of the late legendary stand-up comedian, announced via Twitter that Mike Epps nabbed the starring role.
On Sunday, Aug. 24, the 54-year-old Oscar-nominated director posted a photo of himself, Epps and Oprah Winfrey on the microblogging site along with a caption that read: "Get ready y'all- #MikeEpps as #RichardPryor."
Epps, who is best known for his portrayal of Black Doug in "The Hangover" film series, later tweeted a photograph of himself with Richard Pryor's wife, Jennifer, after the two met so the actor could ask for her blessing to portray her husband.
"Had to kiss the ring of @jennferLpryor for the blessing! you got to be stong [sic] to have been with the king!" the 43-year-old actor captioned the image.
Epps beat out Nick Cannon, Marlon Wayans and Michael B. Jordan to play Pryor. Last month, Cannon somehow hinted that he got the role during an interview in "TMZ Live," but Epps "crushed his audition and propelled himself to the front of the pack," according to Indie Wire.
Also on Sunday, Winfrey posted an Instagram photo of herself, Daniels and Epps and announced that they just finished a "great" first reading session.
Though there is no official announcement yet on whether the 60-year-old media mogul has an onscreen role in the biopic, Winfrey is said to be playing Pryor's grandmother, Marie Carter, in the highly anticipated biopic, Entertainment Tonight reported.
Pryor, who died from a heart attack in 2005, grew up in a house of prostitution run by her grandma Marie, when his mother Gertrude walked out on the family when he was 10 years old. Marie was known known to beat her grandson while raising him at her brothel in Peoria, Illinois, Daily Mail reported.
There is also no word yet on who will play Pryor's widow, Jennifer, who's also producing the film. Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway were said to both be in the running to play Jennifer.
One of Pryor's children, however, is already threatening Jennifer with a lawsuit if the movie moves forward, Cinema Blend reported. But The Weinstein Company doesn't seem to be too worried about the forewarning.