LOS ANGELES, April 30 (UPI) -- Robert Redford has signed on to play Brooklyn Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey in his first baseball drama since 1984's "The Natural."
The as-yet-untitled Hollywood film will chronicle how Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier, Daily Variety said Friday.
Robinson's widow, Rachel, will be involved in "mobilizing" the project, the trade paper said.
The producers said the film will end when Robinson takes the field as a Dodger in 1947.
This year Major League Baseball made April 15 an annual day to honor Robinson.
In 1997, Major League Baseball retired his jersey number, 42, for all teams.
The Robinson story was most recently explored in HBO's "Soul of the Game," in which Blair Underwood played Robinson.
