With a Janis Joplin biopic in the works, one on Jimi Hendrix currently filming and three Jeff Buckley films in pre- or post-production, it seems the trend for music biopics is definitely on the up.

Now we can also add American soul singer Nina Simone to the list, as THR reports that Zoe Saldana and David Oyelowo have signed on to star as the singer and her manager respectively in “Nina“.

Production will begin later this year in Los Angeles, and Cynthia Mort is set to direct from her own script. It’s possible that the recent spate of films about famous musicians has helped bring Mort’s film back to life; the film has been long been gestating, with singer Mary J Blige originally slated to star as Simone before backing out when there were funding issues.

Saldana rose to fame in James Cameron’s 3D Oscar winner “Avatar” and then as Uhura in JJ Abram’s Star Trek reboot. She recently wrapped filming on “Out of the Furnace” with Casey Affleck. Oyelowo was one of our 24 Faces to Watch in 2012, and recently joined Lee Daniel’s “The Butler” which has a host of up and coming actors attached, including Minka Kelly and Alex Pettyfer, as well as Forest Whitaker, Alan Rickman, Jane Fonda, Oprah Winfrey, Liam Neeson and Nicole Kidman.