The Big Picture
- Donald Glover and Caleb McLaughlin portray different versions of 21 Savage in American Dream: The 21 Savage Story.
- The film follows 21 Savage’s pursuit of the American Dream through his music career, while also highlighting his troubled past and immigration struggles.
- The trailer, directed by Glover, showcases pivotal moments in the rapper’s life, including Grammy wins and his arrest by ICE.
The intriguing backstory of the rapper 21 Savage is being turned into a captivating a biopic called American Dream: The 21 Savage Story, with both Donald Glover and Caleb McLaughlin from Stranger Things portraying versions of himself at different points in time. As the title suggests, the film follows 21 Savage’s journey as he chases the American Dream. This leads him to the music industry, which the young rapper sees as salvation from his troubled past. The teaser trailer highlights different moments of his life, including his time recording with producer Metro Boomin, who is portrayed by Jabari Banks (Bel-Air) in the film.
McLaughlin plays the younger version of 21 Savage while Glover portrays him as an adult. The trailer details big moments in his life, such as winning a Grammy for his song “A Lot”. However, it also pinpoints low moments, such as his arrest by Immigration and Customs Law Enforcement. Glover and McLaughlin are not the only big names cast in the film, as they are joined by the likes of Natasha Lyonne (Russian Doll), Victoria Pedretti (You), Gail Bean (Snowfall), and Chad Lindberg (Star Trek: Picard). 21 Savage will also appear in the film as another version of himself in order to tease new music, as the rapper is set to release “music inspired by the film” this Friday, January 12.
21 Savage Tells His Own Story in ‘American Dream’
For the most part, the trailer for American Dream: The 21 Savage Story plays more as a music video as it features 21 Savage rapping through moments of his life, from walking the halls of high school to the violent attacks he was involved in — it’s clear that the film will be a personal tale for the artist. Born in the United Kingdom but raised in the States in Atlanta, Georgia, 21 Savage spent nine days detained by ICE in an immigration detention center, where he embarked on a long legal battle in an attempt to remain in the United States. Eventually, the “Free 21 Savage” movement exploded on social media in the hopes of preventing his deportation, as his arrested was a big part of Trump’s administration tightening up and cracking down on immigration in the country.
In order to capture this moment in 21 Savage’s life as being “in the heat of a personal crisis”, the rapper had Glover not only act in the film as a version of himself, but also direct the teaser trailer. As a celebrated producer and writer from his work on the Emmy-winning series Atlanta, Glover has proven that his skills fall in front and behind the camera. He directed the trailer with his brother, Stephen Glover, alongside Atlanta writer Jamal Olori and music supervisor Fam Udeorji.
American Dream: The 21 Savage Story will premiere on Thursday, July 4. Watch the trailer below:
