If you suffered through Imagine That or Meet Dave or, God forbid, Norbit, you might have comforted yourself with the reminder that Eddie Murphy had plans to star in a biopic about Richard Pryor, reminding us all that he's a talented actor and maybe reviving his career after it almost happened with Dreamgirls.

But apparently we're the only ones interested in freeing Eddie Murphy from his self-created fatsuit prison. HitFix is reporting that Murphy has dropped out of the project, and along with him Fox Searchlight and Paramount have backed away as distributors. Instead Marlon Wayans is being considered for the lead role, and Adam Sandler's Happy Madison would produce the film for distribution by Sony.

Bill Condon, who directed Murphy in Dreamgirls, is still on board as a director, but otherwise we seem to be dealing with an entirely different movie now. Marlon Wayans really isn't a bad choice, given the ability he's shown for drama in Requiem for a Dream and his obvious comedic skills. There's the added philosophical benefit of giving the shot to a more up-and-coming actor, rather than handing Eddie Murphy a role that he barely deserves at this point. But anyone hoping for a Murphy resurrection has to be disappointed right now, no matter how much better Wayans might be for the role in the long run.