Hollywood loves to chase trends. If they see that something makes money, every studio in town is bound to start imitating it, and one of the biggest trends at the moment is the biopic film. Ever since Bohemian Rhapsody made $900 million and won 20th Century Fox four Academy Awards — for Best Actor, Best Film Editing, Best Sound Editing, and Best Sound Mixing — it was only a matter of time before we were up to our eyeballs in biopics.

Already, some of the biggest movies of the year have been biopics. Elvis is universally expected to garner Austin Butler the Best Actor award. Although Blonde has been getting lambasted by critics for what has been called a demeaning and exploitative depiction of Marilyn Monroe, it is still very possible that Ana de Armas could win Best Actress and that Chayse Irvin and Adam Robinson get at least nominated for Best Cinematography and Best Film Editing, respectively.

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Given the tremendous success and hype around these movies, the biopic trend is bound to continue. This fall, several more are coming out: Emily, about the renowned author of Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë, releases on October 14, and I Wanna Dance With Somebody, about the bestselling singer Whitney Houston, releases on December 21. The next few years will see the biopic become a familiar staple of the release schedule.

Archie: Iconic Leading Man Cary Grant

     Warner Bros.

Archie is an upcoming biopic about Cary Grant, one of the most iconic leading men in the history of Hollywood. Between the 1930s and 1960s, he worked with some of the greatest directors in history, such as Howard Hawks, George Cukor, and Alfred Hitchcock. He starred in several of the most acclaimed films of the era, including Bringing Up Baby (1938), Only Angels Have Wings (1939), His Girl Friday (1940), The Philadelphia Story (1940), Notorious (1946), An Affair to Remember (1957), North by Northwest (1959), and Charade (1963).

In the biopic, the role of Cary Grant, whose real name was Archie Leach, will be played by Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter films, Col. Tavington in The Patriot). “There was only one Cary Grant, and I’d never be foolish enough to try to step into his iconic shoes,” Isaacs said in a statement to Variety. “Archie Leach, on the other hand, couldn’t be further from the character he invented to save himself.”

RELATED: How Elvis’s On-Screen Story Differs From the Real King of Rock and Roll

Oscar-nominated screenwriter Jeff Pope (Philomena) said he was inspired to write the film when he discovered Grant had retired from acting in 1966 to raise his newborn daughter. Intrigued by Grant’s decision and the fact that one of Hollywood’s greatest actors had ended up a working single father, he decided to delve more into Grant’s life. Presumably, these events will be shown in the film, but Pope has said that “the key to everything lay in his childhood” in Bristol, England.

Isaacs added, “Jeff’s brilliant scripts bring to life [Grant’s] relentless struggle to escape the demons that plagued him, his obsessive need for control, his fears, his weaknesses, his loves and his losses. It’s the story of a man, not a legend, and those are shoes I can’t wait to walk in.”

Archie will release on the British TV network ITV later this year. No details of an international release have yet been announced.

Oppenheimer: The Famous Physicist

     Universal Pictures

Another of the most highly anticipated biopics currently in development is Oppenheimer, the latest film by Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight, Inception, Interstellar). It follows renowned physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, known as the Father of the Atomic Bomb, who was the head of the United States Manhattan Project during WWII.

From what we’ve seen so far, it seems it will cover Oppenheimer’s entire life but especially focus on his time developing the atomic bomb. The star-studded cast includes Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh, Rami Malek, and more. Oppenheimer releases on July 21, 2023.

Napoleon: The Controversial French General and Emperor

     Apple TV+

One of the most highly anticipated biopics currently in development is Napoleon, the latest film by legendary director Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator, The Martian). The role of France’s charismatic and controversial general-turned-emperor will be filled by Joaquin Phoenix (Her, Gladiator, The Master) and his wife, Empress Josephine, by Vanessa Kirby (The Crown, Mission: Impossible—Fallout). The film will examine Napoleon’s rise to power, from a young boy of little note in the French colony of Corsica to the emperor of France, as well as his troubled marriage.

In an interview with Deadline, Scott said of their marriage, “He conquered the world to try to win her love, and when he couldn’t, he conquered it to destroy her, and destroyed himself in the process.” Napoleon is currently in production and is expected to release next year.

Alina of Cuba: Fidel Castro’s Daughter

     AKOORIS

Alina of Cuba is a biopic about Alina Fernández, one of the fiercest critics of the communist Castro regime — who also happened to be Fidel Castro’s daughter. Fernández was born to Cuban socialite Natalia Revuelta, whom Castro had an affair with, and wasn’t told who her father was until the age of 10. As an outspoken critic and activist, she was frequently arrested by the Castro regime and eventually fled the country and defected to Spain in 1993, making headlines around the world.

RELATED: Ridley Scott’s Napoleon: Plot, Cast, and Everything Else We Know

The film has drawn criticism for its decision to cast James Franco (127 Hours, Spring Breakers), who is of European descent, as Cuban leader Fidel Castro. Colombian-American actor John Leguizamo (Moulin Rouge, Encanto) blasted the casting on Instagram, calling it “F’d up!” Alina Fernández herself, whose life the film is based on, defended the choice, however, noting that Franco has an obvious resemblance to her father and that he is a great actor.

Filming began in August in Cartagena and Bogota, Colombia, whose colonial-era architecture will stand in for Havana, Cuba.

Little Sparrow: Madonna, The Queen of Pop

     Touchstone Pictures

During quarantine in the early phases of COVID, Madonna reportedly spent much of her time working on a biopic about her life. According to Newsweek, she said that it was “about my struggle as an artist trying to survive in a man’s world as a woman, and really just the journey.” Madonna is expected to direct the film herself; previously, she directed the 2008 comedy-drama Filth and Wisdom and the 2011 historical romance W.E. Both were critical failures.

The Madonna biopic is tentatively titled Little Sparrow and is being co-written by Madonna and Erin Cressida Wilson (Secretary, The Girl on the Train). The auditions for the leading role were highly publicized. Several well-known stars tried out, including Florence Pugh and Sydney Sweeney, but Julia Garner (Ozark, Inventing Anna) was chosen to play young Madonna. As of July, Madonna said that they were still in the process of finishing up the script, so if things proceed smoothly, Little Sparrow will most likely release in 2024.