Today, Grammy winner and recording artist Weird Al Yankovic took to Twitter to give fans a very simple order: Get psyched. Weird: The Al Yankovic Story is inching closer, and it's all we can do (besides replaying Weird Al songs) until the movie finally premieres. The Roku original movie will chronicle the life and career of the comedy musician that became world-famous for his parodies of hit songs. Back in March, Yankovic himself announced that filming had wrapped, and now he comes back to share the first trailer for the movie starring Daniel Radcliffe.
We had already seen Radcliffe in character as Al Yankovic, but this time we get to see the British star in action and once again leaning into his comedy skills to embody the legendary musician. Radcliffe will also get his rockstar persona on, as the movie will depict Yankovic’s hilarious performances for screaming crowds all over the country. This isn't the first time that Radcliffe tickles his funny bone: aside from hosting Saturday Night Live, he also starred in Guns Akimbo and is in the main cast of comedy series Miracle Workers.
Based on the teaser trailer, it’s easy to see that Radcliffe managed to rock Yankovic's trademark accordion, which is almost a whole character in the singer’s story, and will certainly be prominent in the movie. The trailer marches to the beat of “Like a Surgeon”, which is Yankovic’s parody of Madonna’s hit song “Like a Virgin”. The queen of pop is also featured in the movie, and is played by Evan Rachel Wood – she is seen very briefly by the end of this first trailer, though, with her back to the camera.
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story is directed by Eric Appel, who’s had plenty of experience directing funny stories: he helmed episodes of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Silicon Valley, NTSF:SD:SUV, and many others. Appel pens the script with Yankovic himself – which means we’ll witness the rare case of the title character of a biopic telling his own story.
This also means that we can expect to see different sides of Yankovic that we’re not used to associating with the singer and comedian, including his party hard mode and his self-declared “depraved” lifestyle. Yankovic has sold over 10 million albums, won the Grammy five times and scored six platinum records, a feat that even “serious” singers struggle to accomplish.
The movie also stars Julianne Nicholson (I, Tonya), Rainn Wilson (The Office), and Toby Huss (Dickinson).
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story is slated for a Fall release on The Roku Channel, but a specific date is yet to be announced.
You can check out Yankovic’s announcement tweet, along with the trailer, below: