Universal Pictures is moving very quickly on The Help director Tate Taylor’s upcoming James Brown biopic.  We learned earlier this week that 42 star Chadwick Boseman has been tapped to play Brown in the film, and Universal announced today that Get on Up will hit theaters on October 17, 2014.  Taylor’s The Help stars Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, and Nelsan Ellis (True Blood) are also in talks to play supporting roles in the pic, which is finally coming to fruition after years of development by producer Brian Grazer.  The only other film currently slated for release on October 17th is Fox’s Frankenstein film starring Daniel Radcliffe.  Hit the jump for more, including the film’s official synopsis.

Unfortunately, the official synopsis for Get on Up makes it sound like just another typical cradle-to-grave biopic.  Taylor definitely took his time in choosing a follow-up to his Best Picture-nominated The Help, so hopefully he has an interesting angle to Brown’s story that will set it apart from the countless other biopics that follow the same structure.  Read the full synopsis below.

In his follow-up to the four-time Academy Award^®-nominated blockbuster The Help, Tate Taylor directs 42’s Chadwick Boseman as James Brown in GET ON UP.  Based on the incredible life story of the Godfather of Soul, the film will give a fearless look inside the music, moves and moods of Brown, taking audiences on the journey from his impoverished childhood to his evolution into one of the most influential figures of the 20^th century.

Academy Award^® winner Brian Grazer (A Beautiful Mind, 8 Mile) and Erica Huggins (Flightplan) produce for Imagine Entertainment, with Mick Jagger and Victoria Pearman (Shine a Light) producing under their Jagged Films banner.  Under his Wyolah Films label, Taylor also serves as a producer on GET ON UP, while Wyolah’s John Norris executive produces alongside Trish Hofmann and Peter Afterman.