The estate of the late comedian Bernie Mac is collaborating with John Legend and his production company, Get Lifted, to make a feature film biopic about Mac, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Legend’s producing partner Mike Jackson broke the news during a panel discussion at the 2021 Tribeca Festival.

“We just partnered with Bernie Mac’s estate to cover Bernie Mac’s story,” Jackson said.

The announcement seemed to surprise Legend, since Jackson added, it was “something that John doesn’t know about yet” and that he was “very excited about” the deal, which “just happened today.” Both Legend and Jackson also said that the sitcom, The Bernie Mac Show, was “beautifully done.”

Get Lifted was launched nine years ago by Legend, Jackson, and Ty Stiklorius, according to Yahoo News. The production company also produced the show, Underground, which aired on WGN and the Academy Award-winning film, La La Land. Legend’s company also produced Jitney, a 2017 revival of the August Wilson play. It won a Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play.

Legend appeared in one of Mac’s last movies in 2008, the hit Soul Men. Mac portrayed Floyd Henderson while Legend portrayed Marcus Hooks, a bandmate of Louis Hinds, who was played by Samuel L. Jackson. Mac died in 2008.

“His humor was always edgy, but it always had so much heart to it at the same time,” Legend said. “You could tell he was a family man. You could tell that he loved the people he was talking about.”