‘Spiderman’s’ Reeve Carney cast in Buckley Biopic

Reeve Carney, known to those on Broadway as Peter Parker in ‘Spiderman: Turn Off The Dark’, will be swapping his tights for a guitar in the upcoming biopic about Jeff Buckley. The film will follow the guitarist’s short life, using the David Browne book ‘Dream Brother: The Lives and Music of Jeff and Tim Buckley’ as a reference.

Singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley was the son of 60s folk singer Tim Buckley. Jeff met an untimely death when he drown in Memphis’ Wolf River in 1997 following a recording session. Buckley only released one album (Grace) before his death and was in the studio crafting the follow-up to his debut. He’s become a cult figure since his passing as his take on Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’ has become legendary. Buckley’s mother Mary Guibert is serving as executive producer on the project. She has also granted rights to director Jake Scott to Buckley’s back catalog of recordings and personal archives for the film. Filming is scheduled to break ground in November.

This entertainment news is coming off the heels of a previous statement that a separate film about Jeff Buckley is in the works. Directed by Dan Algren, this project is entitled ‘Greetings from Jeff Buckley. This version, starring Penn Badgley in the title role, focuses on one night in Buckley’s career, when he performed at a tribute concert for his father. The story will also be about Buckley’s attempt to connect with his father who he had only met once before the elder Buckley’s death in 1975 from a drug overdose. The cast includes Imogen Poots, Ben Rosenfield, and two-time Tony award winner Norbert Leo Butz. Badgley will do his own singing.

Of course, there is no doubt that Carney will do his own singing as well. As you already know, he’s currently starring in ‘Spiderman’, and has fronted his own band for years. The real question is whether either actor will embody Buckley’s vocal range and passion. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.