Ryan Destiny Casted as Claressa "T-Rex" Shields in 'Flint Strong' Biopic

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Academy Award-nominated cinematographer Rachel Morrison is set to make her directorial debut for the biopic.

Ryan Destiny known for her role in Fox's Star has been officially casted as Claressa "T-Rex" Shields in Universal's biopic Flint Strong. This is Destiny's first starring role following the cancellation of Star.

Rachel Morrison will make her film directorial debut for the biopic. According to Variety, she made history as the first female cinematographer to be nominated for an Academy Award for Mudbound. She was also the director of photography for the critically acclaimed movie Black Panther. Barry Jenkins, director of the Academy Award-winning film Moonlight wrote the screenplay.

Variety reports the film is based on Zackary Canepari and Drea Cooper's 2015 boxing documentary, T-Rex which followed the Flint, Michigan native "whose dreams of becoming the first woman in history to win an Olympic medal in boxing are realized at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London."

Shields had been training with her coach Jason Crutchfield since she was 11 years old, according to Shadow and Act. She would go on to win another gold medal for the U.S. at the Olympics in 2016.

Source: Variety