Bad Bunny makes the jump to Hollywood leading man in movie about Puerto Rican hero

Global superstar Bad Bunny will follow his barnstorming Super Bowl half-time show with the lead role in a Hollywood film.

Bad Bunny, legal name Benito Martinez Ocasio, will make the jump to marquee star in Porto Rico, which has previously been described as an epic historical western about a Puerto Rican revolutionary and hero.

The film will be a star-studded affair with Edward Norton, Javier Bardem and Viggo Mortensen in supporting roles. It will be directed by rapper Rene “Residente” Perez Jugler, with four-time Oscar winner Alejandro G. Inarritu serving as producer.

Bad Bunny is no stranger to acting, having had a recurring role on Narcos: Mexico and was featured in the Brad Pitt action movie Bullet Train and the Darren Aronofsky-directed Caught Stealing.

He had a notable role in Happy Gilmore 2 as the caddy to Adam Sandler’s character and was singled out in many reviews as a highlight. His thespian talents are well and truly alive.

Co-written by Residente and Alexander Dinelaris (who helped scribe three Inarritu films including the upcoming Tom Cruise-starring Digger), Deadline reported the film will be set in the late 19th century.

The speculation is that the title, Porto Rico, will refer to the period after the Spanish handed sovereignty of the island to the US in 1898, when it was referred to as Porto Rico until it was renamed to its Spanish name, Puerto Rico, in 1932.

Puerto Rico is a protectorate of the US, and its people are American citizens, although it does not have voting representation in the Congress.

When the project was originally announced in 2023, well before casting, it was described as a biopic of Jose Maldonado Roman, nicknamed Aguila Blanca (White Eagle), a folk-hero and revolutionary known for his anti-colonialist campaigns against the Spanish and later the US.

He sought to establish sovereignty and self-determination for an island nation that had been oppressed under colonial rule for centuries. Spain had ruled Puerto Rico since 1493 and lost it in the Spanish-American War.

Bardem, Mortensen and Norton are all fluent in Spanish.

Bad Bunny has become one of the main symbols of Puerto Rican pride in the present political climate. His heritage was heavily featured in his Super Bowl half-time show, which was an inclusive celebration of Latin culture from all over the Americas.

Bad Bunny at one point carried a Puerto Rican flag that was light blue, which is specifically a version that symbolises and advocates for Puerto Rican independence.

So, for him to portray a historical figure who fought for independence from the Spanish and the Americans, there’s an added authenticity to the casting.

While Bad Bunny has been hugely popular around the world – he became the first person to win the Grammy best album award for a Spanish-language record – in a politically divided US, he is also a figure of controversy.

The right-wing of American politics frothed themselves in a lather at protesting his hiring as the performer. They railed against him for not being “American enough”, seemingly unaware of the fact Puerto Ricans are American citizens, and for performing in Spanish.

More broadly, his performance was widely lauded for bringing a party energy to the event and for its strong advocacy of Latin culture and communities. More than 60 million Americans have Latin heritage.

His half-time performance was watched on average by 128 million Americans on broadcast TV, in addition to its massive reach online around the world.

Bad Bunny will tour Australia next week with two shows in Sydney.