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Bon Jovi Biopic Confirmed At Universal Pictures

Mary Varvaris

The film will reportedly track Bon Jovi’s formative years and the journey to having their rock anthems performed in stadiums across the globe.

Bon Jovi @ Suncorp Stadium
Bon Jovi @ Suncorp Stadium(Credit: Dave Kan)
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After numerous studios threw their hats in the ring, Universal Pictures has confirmed that a biopic about ‘80s rockers Bon Jovi is on the way.

Having previously secured music biopics such as Straight Outta Compton and 8 Mile, the forthcoming film is set to feature the participation of the band’s leader and frontman, Jon Bon Jovi, and have access to the group’s discography.

Deadline reports that the film will track Bon Jovi’s formative years and the journey to having their rock anthems performed in stadiums across the globe. The film will follow their origin through Slippery When Wet, the band’s third album, which contains juggernaut singles Livin’ on a Prayer, Wanted Dead or Alive, and You Give Love a Bad Name.

Screenwriter Cody Brotter (Killing Satoshi) will reportedly pen the script. While no director is currently attached to the project, the film is set to be produced by Kevin J. Walsh (The Instigators, Manchester By the Sea) and Gotham Chopra.

The latter’s Religion of Sports studio produced the 2024 four-episode Hulu documentary, Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story. That project had full access to the band and coincided with their 40th anniversary.

Bon Jovi originated from New Jersey. From humble beginnings to global superstars, the band has sold over 130 million albums worldwide and has been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. 

The band last toured Australia in December 2018, while promoting their 2016 album, This House Is Not for Sale. This year, Bon Jovi are hitting the road in the US and UK for their first tour dates since 2022, when vocalist Jon Bon Jovi underwent vocal surgery.

Reviewing the band’s 2018 show at Adelaide’s Botanic Park, The Music’s Sofia Torchia wrote, “As the night wears on and the temperature drops, the band’s hard-hitting hits give way to the softer side of their catalogue. Ballads and slow anthems feature more heavily in the second half of their set, and Bed Of Roses is just so beautifully done.

“It is an impressively long set from a band whose career spans almost four decades. Bad Medicine, Wanted Dead Or Alive, and of course Livin’ On A Prayer are the perfect send-off in an exciting encore that we wish would never end. “