The unsolved murders of the Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur remain two of the most infamous crimes that have never been officially settled in the history of the entertainment business. Equally elusive has been a film dramatizing the LAPD’s investigation into the cases, the Johnny Depp-starring film City of Lies, which has been off the radar for several years, despite dropping a trailer back in 2018. Now a new trailer has arrived, and the film will finally be arriving in theaters on March 18.
A quick recap for those unfamiliar with the project: City of Lies attempts to tell the story of detective Russell Poole (Johnny Depp). As he tried to solve the murders of Biggie and Tupac after they occurred in 1997, he’s drawn back to those events after a journalist (Forest Whitaker) enlists him in trying to set the record straight 20 years later. As you’ll see in the trailer, it’s not exactly an open and shut case, with plenty of risk and danger involved in the proceedings. Though the story surrounding director Brad Furman’s film is potentially as intriguing as the subject matter it attempts to tackle.
Both business and personal matters have helped delay the release of City of Lies persist for almost four years since the film completed shooting in 2017. On the business end, the woes of original production company Open Road Films had delayed City of Lies from making its planned release into theaters back in 2018. But on the more personal end of things, there was a lawsuit filed against Johnny Depp himself, after an alleged act of violence against a crewmember on the film led to its own legal proceedings.
Putting the circumstances for City of Lies being delayed, another point of interest surrounds this movie’s release. As the subject matter of the lives of The Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur have been previously covered in Notorious and All Eyez On Me, respectively, how this new film approaches the end of both rap titans lives will be of a more keen interest when it comes to their fan bases. Though, at the very least, all involved can hope that City of Lies somehow eclipses the dismal performance of both of those previously released films, especially among critics.
No matter the reason, City of Lies is finally heading to theaters, ready for domestic audiences to finally see this story of two men trying to uncover the truth. March 19th is when this movie is set to hit theaters, and if you check your local listings, you might be able to find some showings are already on sale. And in order to avoid any other surprises, you might want to consult the 2021 release schedule to see what’s already scheduled to hit theaters in throughout the year.
