Eddie Murphy’s return to comedy is kicking off with Netflix’s upcoming Dolemite Is My Name, a laugh-driven biopic chronicling the outsider success of comedian, filmmaker, actor and recording artist Rudy Ray Moore.

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Screenwriting team Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski are behind the script. They’re the same minds behind Tim Burton’s comedy-drama biopic Ed Wood, about the infamous director of B-movies like Plan 9 From Outer Space. That same reflection on the kind of success found outside the margins drives both Ed Wood and Dolemite Is My Name.

When is Dolemite Is My Name released on Netflix?

After a theatrical premiere in the US, it’s coming to Netflix internationally from October 25th.

Eddie Murphy signed a deal with Netflix to bring this biopic of unlikely Blaxploitation hero Rudy Ray Moore to the small screen, as well as finally returning to stand-up for the first time in more than three decades with an upcoming Netflix special.

Is there a trailer?

Yes – the slightly sweary trailer is here, which feels like a better-natured and infinitely less weird version of Tommy Wiseau’s similar auteur-film dream, chronicled by the Franco brothers in The Disaster Artist.

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Who is in the cast?

Eddie Murphy plays Rudy Ray Moore, with a hitlist supporting cast including Keegan-Michael Key, Mike Epps, Craig Robinson, Tituss Burgess, Wesley Snipes, Ron Cephas Jones, Chris Rock and Snoop Dogg.

What is Dolemite Is My Name about?

Dolemite Is My Name follows the efforts of Rudy Ray Moore to make a name for himself as a stand-up comedian and recording artist, finally forging his own path outside the mainstream, making the movies he wants to see, with the people he wants to see in them.

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And in his case, that means creating the alter-ego Dolemite – loud, raucous and unabashed, or pretty much what you’ll remember from Murphy’s own searing stand-up in performances like Raw and Delirious.

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