Ben Johnson Says He Is Working on His Own Biopic in WWETV Exclusive

Ben Johnson wants to bring his life story to the screen.

During an exclusive interview with WorldWide Entertainment TV, the former World’s Fastest Man revealed that he is working on a movie about his life and compared the idea to major biographical films about Bob Marley and Michael Jackson.

“I’m working on a movie of Ben Johnson,” Johnson told WWETV. “Just like Bob Marley…like the biopic, like Michael Jackson.”

The statement does not represent a formal studio announcement or confirmed production schedule. However, it reveals Johnson’s intention to participate in telling a story that has been debated, simplified and retold by others for nearly four decades.

Ben Johnson wants to control his story

Johnson became one of the most famous—and controversial—athletes in sports history after the men’s 100-metre final at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

He crossed the finish line in a world-record time of 9.79 seconds, defeating a field that included American rival Carl Lewis. Johnson was subsequently disqualified after testing positive for stanozolol, stripped of the Olympic gold medal and transformed almost overnight from a Canadian sports hero into an international symbol of performance-enhancing drug use.

The race and its aftermath have followed him ever since.

For many viewers, Johnson’s complete life has been reduced to those 9.79 seconds and the drug test that followed. A biopic could allow him to address the parts of his journey that are often compressed or omitted when the story is revisited.

That includes his childhood in Jamaica, immigration to Canada, development as an elite sprinter, rivalry with Lewis, relationship with coach Charlie Francis, experience during the Dubin Inquiry and life after his athletic career.

Comparing his vision to Bob Marley and Michael Jackson

Johnson’s reference to Bob Marley and Michael Jackson places his idea within the recent success of films about Black cultural icons whose lives extended beyond their most familiar public images.

Bob Marley: One Love introduced Marley’s music, political environment and personal journey to a new theatrical audience.

The 2026 Michael Jackson film Michael went even further commercially, becoming the first biographical movie to cross $1 billion at the worldwide box office. The milestone demonstrated the enormous demand that can exist when the story of a globally recognized figure is introduced to another generation. Variety

Johnson is not claiming that his proposed movie would operate on the same commercial scale. His comparison speaks to the purpose of a biopic: placing a familiar public figure back inside the complete context of their life.

In another moment from the WWETV interview, Johnson made the goal more personal:

“Before I close my eyes…I gotta make that biopic movie, Ben Johnson.”

More than the 1988 Seoul final

A Ben Johnson movie would inevitably return to Seoul, but the strongest version would need to examine more than the finish line and failed test.

The 1988 Olympic final has frequently been described as one of the most drug-affected races in track-and-field history. Several finalists were later connected to performance-enhancing drugs through admissions, positive tests or subsequent allegations.

That wider context does not erase Johnson’s test or automatically restore his medal. It does complicate the simplified version in which one athlete represented the entire problem.

Johnson has consistently argued that he was punished as though he were uniquely responsible for an issue embedded much more deeply within elite athletics.

A film told with his participation could explore the human experience behind that argument: how he processed becoming one of the most judged athletes in the world, what he believes the public still misunderstands and how he wants future generations to evaluate his legacy.

Who should tell the Ben Johnson story?

The creative control surrounding a potential movie would be as important as its casting.

A serious Ben Johnson biopic would need to distinguish between allowing Johnson to present his perspective and producing an uncritical retelling. The most compelling film would give him room to speak while still examining the documented evidence, competing accounts and institutional environment surrounding the 1988 scandal.

It would also need to decide what the story is ultimately about.

Is it the rise and fall of the World’s Fastest Man? A rivalry between Ben Johnson and Carl Lewis? A Jamaican immigrant becoming a Canadian national hero? A warning about performance-enhancing drugs? Or an examination of how institutions and media select one person to carry the blame for a much larger system?

Those questions are precisely why Johnson’s story remains relevant.

Full Ben Johnson interview coming to WWETV

Johnson’s biopic revelation is part of a wider exclusive conversation with WorldWide Entertainment TV about his life, career and legacy.

The complete interview will explore his process, perspective, personal receipts and predictions for how future generations may judge what happened in Seoul.

No official title, cast, production company or release date for the proposed movie has been announced.

For now, the important development is that Ben Johnson says he is working toward placing his own story on screen—and he wants that movie completed during his lifetime.

Would you watch a Ben Johnson biopic, and what part of his story must the film address?