Jack Osbourne Says Ozzy Biopic Will Give Fans What They Want, Not an "Artsy" Film

A year after Ozzy Osbourne’s death, his son Jack says the long-gestating biopic about the Black Sabbath frontman is entering its final stretch of development, with a completed script and a clear mandate: make something for the fans, not the festival circuit. Speaking to E! News, Jack revealed the screenplay is finished and the family is now meeting with directors.

“We can’t make this artsy, esoteric biopic,” Jack said, explaining the guiding principle behind the project. “We’re not doing that for many reasons, but it’s not what the fans want.” He described a mantra he repeats in every meeting with his mother, Sharon Osbourne, and the rest of the family’s business team: give the audience the movie they actually want to see, since that’s the same instinct that shaped Ozzy’s music and live shows for five decades.

The film has been in development at Sony Pictures and Polygram Entertainment since 2021, when it was first announced as a chronicle of Ozzy’s life and his decades-long marriage to Sharon. Lee Hall, the screenwriter behind “Rocketman,” wrote the script. Jack, Sharon and sister Aimee Osbourne are attached as producers through the family’s Osbourne Media banner.

Casting remains under wraps, but Jack indicated the family already has someone in mind for the lead role. “Conversations have been had,” he said, adding that if the plan comes together, “it’s gonna be awesome.” He stopped short of confirming a name, continuing a pattern of teasing but not revealing details that has defined the project’s slow march toward production. In earlier interviews, Ozzy himself said he hoped for a relatively unknown actor rather than a major star, specifically ruling out anyone in the mold of Johnny Depp.

Ozzy died in July 2025 at age 76 from a heart attack, with coronary artery disease and Parkinson’s disease listed as contributing factors, just weeks after performing what became his final concert in his hometown of Birmingham, England. The family has continued developing the film in the time since, with Jack previously describing the project as being in “full steam” development as far back as last December.

Sharon has said the movie will not sanitize Ozzy’s history with drugs, alcohol and the chaos that came to define his public image, describing it in earlier interviews as “an adult movie for adults” rather than a polished awards-season retelling. Jack’s latest comments suggest the family intends to balance that unfiltered honesty with the kind of crowd-pleasing tone that made “The Osbournes” a cultural phenomenon in the first place.