Brad Gaines and the late Chucky Mullins

It appears the Chucky Mullins story is about to hit the big screen.

According to the Franklin County (Ala.) Times, the newspaper in Mullins' hometown of Russellville, Ala., a New York based movie production assistant recently spent time there conducting research for the film which is said to have a release date of fall 2017.

Brad Gaines, the former Vanderbilt player whom Mullins collided with which led to his paralysis, is intricately involved in the production, according to the Franklin County Times. Laspata DeCaro, who helped produce the ESPN documentary on Mullins entitled "It's Time," is also reportedly involved with the project.

The movie, also to be titled "It's Time," is said to be in the very early stages of pre-production with filming set to begin this October.

"This is a movie about football, but it's really a love story," research assistant Dylan Fowler told the Franklin County Times. "Chucky's love for Russellville, Chucky's love for football, Russellville's love for Chucky, Ole Miss' love for Chucky. There's all of this love, and then Brad and Chucky end up becoming really close, so there's their love for each other, their friendship. Even though there's a tragic ending, it really is a feel-good movie because he left such an impression, and he came from nothing."