The Hollywood movie chronicling the rags to riches story of Leicester City frontman Jamie Vardy is to go ahead as planned despite the club's shock decision to sack manager Claudio Ranieri on Thursday.
The Italian was relieved of his duties just nine months after he led the Foxes to a remarkable triumph in the Premier League last season, overcoming odds of 5,000-1 to lift the title.
Vardy's form during that campaign, with 24 goals to his name, prompted production company Bedlam Media to begin work on a movie charting the 30-year-old's rise from the lower leagues of English football to a starring role in the top flight.
Ranieri is expected to be a key character in the movie, which has a working title Fearless, but the producers have insisted that latest twist in the Leicester tale will not derail their plans.
"We are, like many, saddened to hear that Leicester City Football Club have decided to remove Claudio Ranieri from managing their current side," read a statement. "His achievements at the club are the stuff of legend, and we are sure he will be remembered fondly by all those associated with the club for many years to come. It is not ours to comment on the working practices of the organisation.
"Leicester City's successes of 2016 and the remarkable rise to stardom of Jamie Vardy is an inspirational and universal story that simply must get told. We maintain that the film will not only celebrate the successes but provide a worthy record of those events and help fix its place in history. The exceptional cannot be tarnished by failing to repeat it."
One Direction's Louis Tomlinson and Hollywood actor James McAvoy have been linked with the role of Vardy in the movie, while Vinnie Jones has emerged as an unlikely candidate for the part of Ranieri.
Neil Wilkes
