Ever seen The Jackie Robinson Story?  No?  Well, that film came out in 1950, so unless you’ve got a DVD copy (or a Netflix DVD subscription), it’s no wonder.  But next year 42, the story of the very first African-American player in Major League Baseball (MLB) will be coming to a theater near you.  And if the press release is any indication, this film is sure to be a fitting tribute.  And we can probably thank Moneyball and it’s Academy Award nods for helping to bring this story back to celluloid.

Looks like there will be some serious star power in front and behind the camera for 42.  Why take it from me though; carry on, press release!

BURBANK, CA, April 23, 2012 – Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures are teaming up with director Brian Helgeland for “42,” the story of baseball great Jackie Robinson.

Slated for release on April 12th, 2013, the film will open in time to commemorate the 66th anniversary of Jackie Robinson Day — April 15, the date of his first game as a Brooklyn Dodger — and on the heels of the opening of the 2013 Major League Baseball season. The announcement was made today by Dan Fellman, President, Domestic Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures.

“42” will star Academy Award® nominee Harrison Ford (“What Lies Beneath,” “Air Force One,” “Witness”) as the innovative Dodger’s general manager Branch Rickey, the MLB executive who first signed Robinson to the minors and then helped to bring him up to the show, and Chadwick Boseman (“The Express”) as Robinson, the heroic African American who was the first man to break the color line in the big leagues. The film also stars Nicole Beharie (“Shame”) as Rachel Isum, who would become Robinson’s wife, as well as Christopher Meloni (upcoming “Man of Steel”) and T.R. Knight (TV’s “Grey’s Anatomy”).

“42” is set to start production on May 14 in Birmingham, Alabama, with additional locations to include Macon and Atlanta, Georgia, and Chattanooga Tennessee, where the production will mount much of the film’s baseball action at Engel Stadium, double for Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field.

Academy Award® winner Helgeland (“L.A. Confidential”) will direct from his own screenplay. Thomas Tull will produce, with Dick Cook, Jon Jashni, and Jason Clark executive producing. Oscar® nominee Don Burgess (“Forrest Gump”) is the director of photography, Richard Hoover (HBO’s “Temple Grandin”) is production designer, and Caroline Harris (“A Knight’s Tale”) is the costume designer.

Sounds like they’re signing the big guns.  Can’t wait to see how it all comes together next April!