Lenny Kravitz is set to get it on as Marvin Gaye in Julien Temple‘s in-the-works biopic of the troubled Prince of Soul. Finding Gaye in 1981, battling alcohol and dodging the taxman in London, Temple’s film will chart the legendary singer’s final years. It’s unclear whether Temple will follow Gaye back to America and document the tragedy of his eventual murder at the hands of his father, but for now Lenny Kravitz is an interesting bit of casting news.

Lenny Kravitz isn’t a total stranger to the silver screen, but this is a huge step up from playing Jennifer Lawrence‘s outré stylist in The Hunger Games. Portraying one of the most revered figures in soul music comes with a lot of responsibility, so let’s hope Temple can coax something special out of the flamboyant rocker.

A lot of music bios present lives lived in painted corridors, check-pointed by Key Moments and progressing with little actual insight. We’re talking the half-baked Notorious, and even acclaimed films like Ray and Walk the Line stick to the straight and narrow. The limited scope of Temple’s film could force Lenny Kravitz to deliver a more intimate portrait of Gaye than might be expected. Here’s hoping. Gaye regained popular success in 1982 with the release of Sexual Healing and a following tour, so Lenny Kravitz should imbue Temple’s biopic with at least a few scenes of musical magic amidst the alcoholism, exile and infanticide.

What’s going on? Has Lenny got to give it up because there ain’t nothing like the real thing? Or are you, um, actually quite excited? Comments below.