Lionel Richie will produce Disney movie musical based on his song catalog

Lionel Richie is one of the best-selling artists of all time and a decorated songwriter. 

Now the 70-year-old artist is working with Disney to create a movie musical based on his extensive song catalog, set to be titled after his hit song All Night Long. 

Richie sold his pitch to the studio back in January and the script is now being written by Pete Chiarelli, of Crazy Rich Asians, for a theatrical release, Variety reported on Tuesday. 

Richie will produce the project alongside his manager Bruce Eskowitz and Calvary Media executives Dana Brunetti and Matt Del Piano. 

The Say You, Say Me hitmaker has been working with Disney and its subsidiary ABC since 2018 when he joined the judges panel on American Idol. 

Throughout his five decades long career, Richie has been awarded four Grammy Awards and sold over 90 million records. 

He also won a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for his song Say You, Say Me which appeared in the film White Nights. 

In 2016, he was awarded the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame’s highest honor, the Johnny Mercer Award for outstanding creative work.  

Last month, he performed his iconic song — We Are The World — on television for the first time in 35 years

The new rendition, which is the second remake since the 1985 original, closed out the season 18 finale of American Idol on Sunday, May 17. 

Richie was joined by fellow Idol judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan, along with season 18 contestants and some iconic alumni of past years.