John Madden Biopic Series In The Works, Will Presumably Include Origin Of Video Game Series

A John Madden biopic limited series is in the works that will chronicle the late football icon's life and career, including his time as a head coach and presumably the origin of EA's video game series bearing his name. Deadline reports that the series has yet to find a home, or someone to play John Madden, but it will be produced in part by Tom Brady's 199 Productions.

"If dad was still around, and he was looking for a few guys to huddle up and tell his story, he'd be thrilled to have Tom Brady leading the huddle," Mike Madden, John's son, told Deadline.

The show, All Madden, will also be produced by the late football hero's family. It's directed by Gavin O'Connor, who is well-versed in the sports drama landscape, as he directed the hockey movie Miracle, the basketball film The Way Back, and the MMA movie Warrior.

The series was originally envisioned as a movie, but writer Alex Sohn (Vegas) quickly realized Madden's life story would be better suited for the longer runtime that a TV series can accommodate.

John Madden was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in 1958 but had a bad knee injury during training camp and never played in the NFL. At the age of 32, Madden became the head coach of the Raiders, winning a Super Bowl with the team and never having a losing season. At 42, Madden retired from coaching and later became one of the most recognizable sports broadcasters on the planet.

The football icon is also responsible for helping to expand the popularity of football through the Madden video game series. O'Connor told Deadline that Madden "knew nothing about video games," but saw it as an opportunity to help teach people about the game he loved so much.

"He didn't know a thing about video game. These kids who know nothing about the Raiders team or his NFL career, kids know him as the voice coming out of that console," O'Connor said.

So presumably, the All Madden TV series will dig into the origin of the football video game franchise that began in 1988 and continues to be incredibly popular to this day. After Madden died in 2021, EA Sports honored the legendary coach and broadcaster by making him the cover star of Madden NFL 23.