The life and times of Tupac Shakur is on its way to the big screen in a biopic that will start filming in early 2014. The long talked about film will finally begin production after securing financial backing.

According to Deadline, Morgan Creek Productions and Emmett/Furla/Oasis Films are teaming up to co-produce and co-finance the film with an estimated budget of around $45 million. The two firms are working from script written by Eddie Gonzalez and Jeremy Hart, with a draft expected to be finished in two weeks.

The movie will have the rights to use any of Tupac's dense musical catalogue and his mother, Afeni Shakur, will serve as an executive producer, while James G. Robinson, David Robinson and LT Hutton, along with Randall Emmett and George Furla will produce the film.

The late rapper was born in Harlem, NY in 1971 to a mother and a father who were members of the socialist organisation 'Black Panthers'. Tupac had a meteoric rise to fame as a Hip-Hop artist and an actor which began when his debut album '2pacalyspe Now' was released in 1991.

Shakur who was known for his in-your-face lyrics that were politically driven made him widely popular in the urban music scene but also made him a target.

The 'Gehtto Gospal' rapper was probably best known for his involvement in the mid 90's West Coast East Coast rivalry which many believe is the reason behind him getting gunned down on a Las Vegas street corner in 1996, after watching a Mike Tyson fight. The same rivalry also saw the killing of fellow rapper 'Biggie Smalls' one year later, who also died from gunshot wounds at the age of 24.

Tupac Shakur died 6 days later in hospital, he was 25 years old and the shooter has never been caught or identified. His death enhanced his iconic status even more, as of this day he has sold over 75 million records.

Filming is set to begin early 2014 in Atlanta, but it has not yet been announced who will play Tupac.

tupac shakurTupac Shakur biopic is set to start filming in early 2014