Boyz II Men movie musical 'Brotherly' is in the works

8 December 2021, 17:12

Boyz II Men are taking their music to the big screen. Picture: Motown Records/Universal Records

By Thomas Curtis-Horsfall

It looks like iconic R&B group Boyz II Men will be the latest act to be heralded on the silver screen.

A movie musical based on the work of the beloved 90's band titled Brotherly is reportedly in the works.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Malcolm D. Lee is in talks to direct and produce the film, who recently directed Space Jam: A New Legacy which featured basketball superstar LeBron James.

A synopsis for the new Boyz II Men film states that it will detail the story of four men who discover the "enduring power of friendship".

“[The four men] will return to West Philadelphia for a high school reunion 20 years after having gone their separate ways – eventually finding hope, redemption and a new understanding of the enduring power of friendship."

No release date has been set, but as the band celebrate the 30th anniversary of their debut album Cooleyhighharmony on Motown Records, it seemed an appropriate time to announce the movie musical.

Boyz II Men are one of the greatest-selling R&B acts of all time, redefining the genre and bringing a new brand of R&B to a completely new global audience.

Boyz II Men have performed as a trio since bass singer Michael McCary left in 2003. (Eric McCandless/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images). Picture: Getty

Tracks like 'End of the Road', 'It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday', and 'One Sweet Day' with Mariah Carey established them as one of the world's biggest bands throughout the 1990s.

Since then, an astonishing career has seen them win a total of four Grammy Awards, with their work now set to be heralded on film.

Brotherly is written by Marcus Gardley, who has written scripts for upcoming Marvin Gaye biopic What’s Going On and a movie musical adaptation of The Color Purple.

Boyz II Men still tour as a trio, with current members Nathan Morris, Wanya Morris and Shawn Stockman all serving as executive producers for Brotherly which is being created in collaboration with Amazon Studios.

Boyz II Men - End Of The Road

Their origin story sounds like something out of a film too.

After performing together at a school Valentine's Day party in 1989, the (then) five-piece plucked up the courage to sneak backstage when New Edition spin-off trio Bel Biv DeVoe performed in their native Philadelphia.

Having planned to find Will Smith backstage, they instead came across New Edition's Michael Bivins where they performed an acapella rendition of their own song 'Can You Stand the Rain'.

This impressed Bivins so much he decided to manage them. And the rest as they say is history.

Boyz II Men have yet to release any new music since 2017's Under the Streetlight, but there may be new material in the works for Brotherly. We'll wait and see.