Two-time Academy Award winner Robert De Niro is in discussions to star as legendary Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda in Tommy & Me, a biographical sports drama in development at Skydance Sports. Reid Carolin (Dog, Isle of Man) is set to direct.

The screenplay is written by George Gallo (Midnight Run), Cambron Clark, and Carolin. Narrative specifics regarding which era of Lasorda’s life and career will serve as the primary focus are being kept under wraps.

One of Major League Baseball’s most celebrated and charismatic ambassadors, Lasorda signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers organization in 1949 as a pitcher, playing briefly in the majors before transitioning to scouting and minor-league managing. After serving as third-base coach under Hall of Famer Walter Alston, Lasorda took over the Dodgers dugout in 1976, managing the franchise for two decades until 1996. During his tenure, he guided Los Angeles to four National League pennants and two World Series titles in 1981 and 1988, earned two NL Manager of the Year honors, and later led the United States national baseball team to an upset gold medal victory at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. Lasorda was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997 and passed away in 2021 at the age of 93.

Skydance Sports serves as the lead studio, with Jesse Sisgold, Jason T. Reed, and Sandino Moya-Smith producing for the division. Additional producers include Peter Guber for Mandalay Pictures, Keri Selig and Diane Galardi for Intuition Productions, and Carolin alongside Garret Livetz for Free Association.

De Niro, who recently headlined Netflix’s serial killer thriller The Whisper Man, will next be seen in Universal Pictures’ comedy sequel Focker-in-Law this November. The attachment would mark a notable return to baseball cinema for De Niro, who previously starred as catcher Bruce Pearson in 1973’s Bang the Drum Slowly and obsessive fan Gil Renard in 1996’s The Fan.