Zoë Saldaña will be singing the blues this October…

The 34-year-old half-Dominican/half-Puerto Rican American actress has signed on to star as Nina Simone in a biopic about the legendary singer.

Simone rose to acclaim as a singer-songwriter in the 1950s and became involved in the civil rights movement in the 1960s, even advocating violence. Tax issues forced her to relocate to other countries, including France, where she passed away in 2003.

Entitled Nina, the film’s script was written by Cynthia Mort, who has been attached to direct the film. It’s been in the works for several years, but hadn’t come to fruition due to funding issues. It seems those issues have been resolved, with the movie set t begin production in Los Angeles on October 16.

Mark Burton, Barnaby Thompson, Stuart Parr and Ben Latham Jones are producing.

Saldaña recently wrapped Out of the Furnace, a thriller that also stars Christian Bale and Casey Affleck, as well as the sequel to Star Trek.