Get ready to see Bad Bunny on a screen near you very soon because the superstar has landed his first lead acting job in Residente's upcoming historical drama Porto Rico.
First announced in 2023, Porto Rico seems to be picking up steam after Bad Bunny's momentous Super Bowl halftime performance, which served as a love letter to his native Puerto Rico, with key cast members being announced.
“I have dreamed of making a film about my country since I was a child. Puerto Rico's true history has always been surrounded by controversy,” Residente, who's co-penning and directing the project, said in a statement. “This film is a reaffirmation of who we are—told with the intensity and honesty that our history deserves.”
If you want to know more about Porto Rico, we've gathered all the information we know so far about the project below.
What will Porto Rico be about?
Porto Rico is being described as a “historical drama.” As noted by Deadline, when the project was first announced in 2023, the plot was to be based on Puerto Rican revolutionary José Maldonado Román, also known as Águila Blanca (lit. “white eagle”).
“I began writing this story many years ago, in between tours, meetings, falling-outs, triumphs, and mistakes. Little by little, I started weaving this dream. I can tell you it has not been easy, and I think I'm facing the most ambitious project of my entire career, where every single artistic element unites in the same space,” Residente said of the project on his Instagram, where he also shared archival pictures of Águila Blanca and from 1897's Intentona de Yauco (a.k.a. the Attempted Coup of Yauco, a revolt against Spanish rule in the island).
He also provided a list of names of Puerto Rican historians who have met with him while working on the project, namely Fernando Picó, Juan Manuel Delgado, Ivonne Acosta Lespier, Heidi Dilan, Margarita Maldonado, Pancho Moscoso, and Álvaro Rivera Ruiz.
Following the Spanish-American War in 1898, in the Treaty of Paris, the name of the island, Puerto Rico, was anglicized to "Porto Rico," which remained the official spelling until the 1930s and serves as the title for the upcoming project.
Who is starring in Porto Rico?
Porto Rico will star Bad Bunny (Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio) in his first leading acting role, though details about his character are yet to be shared.
The Puerto Rican superstar, known for his record-breaking music career, has had a handful of acting gigs in the past, both for film and TV. Since 2021, Bad Bunny has appeared in Narcos: Mexico, F9: The Fast Saga, Bullet Train, Cassandro, Happy Gilmore 2, and Caught Stealing. However, Porto Rico will notably be his first major leading role.
Speaking about Bad Bunny's casting on his Instagram, Residente wrote, “[Thank you] to Benito, for taking the plunge and signing on for his first starring role with me because, as I told him, ‘I'm not looking for an actor, I'm looking for someone who hurts for Puerto Rico as much as I do and that would be as proud as I am when they sing our true hymn.'"
Who is Residente?
Residente is the stage name for Puerto Rican star René Pérez Joglar. Active since the mid '00s, Joglar is an award-winning multi-hyphenate known for his music, acting, writing, and activism. He first rose to fame as a member of the band Calle 13, which he formed alongside his siblings Cabra and Ile, formerly known as Visitante and PG-13, respectively.
In the film world, Residente has worked on multiple documentaries, including 2006's My Block, 2009's Sin mapa, and 2017's Residente. He also made his acting debut in 2009 with a cameo on Old Dogs, starring Robin Williams and John Travolta, and landed his first major role as Vicente in 2024's In the Summers, written and directed by Colombian-American filmmaker Alessandra Lacorazza. Porto Rico will be Residente's directorial debut.
Porto Rico won't be the first time Bad Bunny and Residente work together. In the past, Residente has referred to Bad Bunny as his “brother and friend.” The duo also has multiple collaborations together, including "Afilando los cuchillos," “Bellacoso,” and more. Residente was also one of Bad Bunny's special guests during his residency in Puerto Rico for DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS.
Who else is in the cast of Porto Rico?
So far, we know that Bad Bunny will be joined by actors Javier Bardem, Viggo Mortensen, and Edward Norton. According to Deadline, the actors will reportedly play roles “connected to their respective origin countries.” (Bardem is Spanish, while Mortensen and Norton are both from the US and fluent in Spanish.)
In a statement posted on his Instagram on February 18, Residente said he still “couldn't believe” that he would get to work with this “great ensemble.” He also said there will be more actors joining the cast that he will unveil “throughout the next few months.”
Speaking about the film in a statement, Norton, who also serves as a producer for the project, said: “This film sits in a tradition of films we deeply love, from The Godfather to Gangs of New York, that both thrill us with visceral drama and iconic characters and eras while also forcing us to face up to the shadow story under the American narrative of idealism. Everybody knows what a poet of language and rhythm René is. Now they're going to see what a visual visionary he is as well. And bringing him and Bad Bunny together to tell the true story of Puerto Rico's roots is going to be like a flame finding the stick of dynamite that's been waiting for it.”
Who else is working on Porto Rico?
Residente reportedly co-wrote the screenplay for Porto Rico alongside Oscar-winning screenwriter and playwright Alexander Dinelaris, known for his work on Birdman. Dinelaris and Residente reportedly met through filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu, whom the latter has referred to as his “mentor” and who also serves as an executive producer for Porto Rico.
“It took me a while to find a great writer because I was looking for someone who not only is talented but also connects with the subject matter. I found both in Alex, an amazing writer who is highly skilled at dialogues, as was evident in Birdman,” Residente said of Dinelaris in a statement. “I think we have an opportunity to tell a unique story and shed light on a corner of history that until now has been undiscovered by a large part of the world. It's a story about the spectacular courage and resilience of someone unwilling to bend the knee at any price. I think that's a story that now more than ever deserves to be told.”
When is Porto Rico coming out?
As of February 2026, Porto Rico has no tentative release date yet.
Is there a first-look at Porto Rico?
At the time of writing, Porto Rico remains in pre-production, so we have yet to get our first look at the project—but stay tuned in case that changes soon.
This post will be updated as news about Residente's Porto Rico, starring Bad Bunny, breaks.
