Mike Epps has been cast to play Richard Pryor in a film about the iconic comedian from director Lee Daniels, but, back in 2009, Marlon Wayans had the role in another movie about Pryor. In a film set up at Sony for producer Chris Rock and director Bill Condon.
"Marlon Wayans screen-tested for it, and it was amazing," Chris Rock told MTV about the project April of 2010. "If you ever saw him in 'Requiem for a Dream,' you know how dramatic he can be."
Rock said he and Condon were just "waiting for the green light from the studio." The go-ahead never materialized, however, and the rest became movie history. Until now: On Monday, Wayans' purported "audition footage" for the Pryor film was uploaded to Vimeo. The nearly eight-minute reel includes two sequences: a scene between Wayans and actor Omar Epps and a Wayans on stage as Pryor. Watch the footage below to see what might have been: