HBO Making Bonds Doc With ‘Last Dance’ Producers

HBO is producing a documentary on Barry Bonds, baseball’s home run king whose historic performances throughout the 1990s and 2000s became marred by steroid controversies. 

The untitled film is being directed by Keith McQuirter (By Whatever Means Necessary: The Times of Godfather of Harlem) and executive produced by Oscar winner Ezra Edelman (O.J.: Made in America). Deadline first reported news of HBO’s Bonds documentary.

Also serving as executive producers on the Bonds doc are Connor Schell and Libby Geist, creators of ESPN’s 30 for 30 series and executive producers of The Last Dance docuseries on Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. Schell and Geist are now at the production studio Words+Pictures, which is partnering with HBO on the Bonds project.

Archived footage and original interviews will be used in the Bonds film to chronicle his beginning as the son of MLB All-Star Bobby Bonds and godson of Willie Mays to his early-career stardom with the Pittsburgh Pirates and record-breaking years with the San Francisco Giants. 

“Through a series of interviews, we will illuminate the untold story of Bonds, providing an intimate look behind the scenes. It will all add up to a complex journey that was one of the most enduring and consequential tales in American sports history – a tale I can’t wait to tell,” McQuirter told Deadline. 

HBO’s press release seemingly indicates that Bonds himself has not yet been confirmed as an interview subject for the project. “The filmmakers will include a diverse cast of influential figures from Barry Bonds’ life and career, and the opportunity for Bonds to participate and share his firsthand experiences actively remains available.”