Trailer for “Rise” Giannis Antetokounmpo Movie Released

Disney+ released the trailer for the upcoming movie about Giannis Antetokounmpo and his family, called “Rise” on Tuesday.

The company also said the movie will be available to watch on Disney+ starting June 24th.

Sons. Brothers. A family of champions 🏆

RISE, an all-new Original movie, starts streaming June 24 only on #DisneyPlus! pic.twitter.com/kNZX6uEsPu

— Disney+ (@disneyplus) May 10, 2022

Back in February, Giannis Antetokounmpo and his family visited Walt Disney Studios to watch an early cut of the movie about their journey.

“Cannot wait to share it with the world,” Antetokounmpo tweeted then along with a picture of him with his mom, Veronica, and his brother, Thanasis.

When it originally was announced in 2019, it was titled “Greek Freak.”

Movie is an inspiring story of Antetokounmpo from Greece to the NBA

The feature film will portray Giannis Antetokounmpo’s early life and experiences in Greece as well as the flourishing of his basketball career.

It is an inspiring story about how a family launched the career of three NBA champions, Giannis, Thanasis, and Kostas. Giannis and Thanasis both play for the Milwaukee Bucks and are 2021 world champions, and their brother, Kostas, won the title in 2020 with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Former Disney executive Bernie Goldman produced the script for the film, which was written by Arash Amel (“A Private War”). Goldman was also the producer of the recent, hugely successful movie about Greek history called “300.”

Much of the shooting about Antetokounmpo’s life took place in Greece in 2021 and also in the United States.

Antentokounmpo was born to Nigerian immigrants who had illegally immigrated to Athens in 1994, but he was not technically considered a Greek citizen until he turned eighteen. However, the basketball phenom is immensely proud to be Greek and often speaks of his love for his home country.

A press release from Disney+ explains part of the movie and journey as such:

“After emigrating to Greece from Nigeria, Vera and Charles Antetokounmpo struggled to survive and provide for their five children, while living under the daily threat of deportation. With their oldest son still in Nigeria with relatives, the couple were desperate to obtain Greek citizenship but found themselves undermined by a system that blocked them at every turn.”

The press release also reveals that “When they weren’t selling items to tourists on the streets of Athens with the rest of the family, encouraged by their father, the brothers would sneak away to play basketball with a local youth team. Latecomers to the sport, they discovered their great abilities on the basketball court and worked hard to become world class athletes.”

“With the help of an agent,” it was said, “Giannis entered the NBA Draft in 2013 in a long shot prospect that would change not only his life but the life of his entire family.”