Manic Street Preachers have released a statement revealing that they want nothing to do with the upcoming release of a biopic, about their missing guitarist Richey Edwards. The guitarist, Richey Edwards, has been missing since 1995, and his life is set to be the subject of a upcoming new film titled, ‘4Real’.

The film, ‘4Real’, will be directed by Lindy Heymann and the movie is due to start shooting, next year. However, a spokeswomen for the Manic Street Preachers has told NME: that “the band have nothing to do with this film, and nothing to say about it.”

Heymann, who will be directing the film, is mainly known for directing music videos and has worked with likes of Paul McCartney, Suede and The Specials. Her first film, ‘Showboy’, was a documentary about a film producer who tried to become a dancer, in Las Vegas, after getting fired. Heymann’s other works include the recent short film, ‘The Laughing King’, which was about male suicide.

Although the Manic Street Preachers are not involved in the upcoming biopic, ‘4Real’, it does have the support and backing of Creative England. The film is named after a famous incident, in 1991, which saw Edwards carve the phrase “4Real” into his arm, after he was asked by then-NME journalist Steve Lamacq about how genuine the music of the Manic Street Preachers was.

Other than confirming that filming will begin next year, there is not a lot of information about the film including casting details for, ‘4Real’, which have still to be announced. Speaking about the forthcoming biopic, ‘4Real’, Heymann told Montsebru: “I have two films in the pipeline. One is 4Real, a portrait of Richey Edwards from Manic Street Preachers, which we hope to shoot next year. The other is Rum Doxy Diver, a romantic adventure which tells the tale of Grace Hammer – a feisty pickpocket – set in Victorian England.”

Edwards went missing back in 1995 and was declared dead, in 2008, having been missing since his car was abandoned, in February 1995, near the Severn Bridge, in Wales, on the eve of a promotional tour to the US. According to NME, “the Severn Bridge is a known suicide spot, and it has been generally assumed that Edwards died by suicide.”

However, a book published in January, ‘Withdrawn Traces’, says new evidence suggests Edwards may have staged his disappearance. The book, which is the first to be written with the co-operation of Edwards’ sister Rachel Elias, says sightings of Edwards on a kibbutz, in Israel may well be genuine. He had apparently become fascinated with being a recluse.