John Singleton and Tupac Skakur have a history. When the rapper took his first turns as an actor, he worked with Singleton. A Tupac biopic project has been going around for years and at one point, John Singleton was set to direct. The hip hop legend and the director will continue their cinema collaboration.

John Singleton signed on to direct, re-write and produce a Tupac Shakur biopic that is being produced by Morgan Creek Productions and Emmett/Furla/Oasis Films. The new Tupac Shakur biopic should start shooting this summer.

There is no word yet on who will be playing Tupac in the new movie. Anthony Mackie was the last actor to play Tupac on-screen in the 2009 biopic of Biggie Smalls called "Notorious."

THR reports Singleton left the original Tupac project in 2011.  Antoine Fuqua, who directed "Training Day" with Denzel Washington, had also been attached to direct the film. He left because he couldn't find the right script or lead actor, even after an open casting.

THR reported that Singleton "will begin working on a draft of the screenplay immediately, with an eye toward a summer start date."

John Singleton's future with the rapper was cut off by his untimely death. Shakur was killed in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas in 1996. Singleton said "Tupac was the guy who I planned to do a lifetime of films with. His passing deeply affected my life as well as countless people in this world. His life story is as important to my generation."

Shakur put out five albums. Three of them hit number 1. Tupac's album "All Eyez On Me" from 1996 is still one of the bestselling hip-hop records of all time. Shakur's music will be featured in the film.

The killings of Tupac Shakur and Brooklyn's Notorious B.I.G, who real name was Christopher Wallace have never been solved and have given birth to their own mythology.

The Tupac movie was stalled by a legal battle between Morgan Creek and Shakur's mother, Afeni Shakur, who is now an executive producer.