Two years after he stepped away from the project, director John Singleton has finalized a deal to direct the Untitled Tupac Shakur Project, which was formerly known as Tupac.

The filmmaker will also produce and re-write the script, which has been worked on by Steven Bagatourian, Stephen J. Rivele and Christopher Wilkinson. Work will begin immediately on the script, with the producers now focusing their efforts on finding the right actor to portray Tupac Shakur, in hopes of starting production as early as this June. The film will chart the rapper's rise to success, and his murder in 1996, after a Las Vegas boxing match, which still has not been solved.

The project has had a tumultuous history, starting with a legal battle between Morgan Creek Productions and the rapper's mother Afeni Shakur over his life rights. The case was eventually settled, with Afeni Shakur now serving as executive producer. Antoine Fuqua became attached to direct in 2011, with Morgan Creek holding an open casting call later that year. Morgan Creek announced in September 2013 that the project would begin filming this spring, but it seems that shooting will now begin this summer, if they can find their leading man.

James G. Robinson, David C. Robinson and L.T. Hutton are producing, with Morgan Creek co-financing the project with Emmet/Furla/Oasis. John Singleton has wanted to direct this project for many years. The filmmaker worked with the rapper on his 1993 film Poetic Justice, and he has grown close with his family since his death. The filmmaker most recently directed the action-thriller Abduction in 2011.