The Hollywood Reporter has brought word that Black Panther‘s Daniel Kaluuya and Atlanta‘s Lakeith Stanfield have entered talks to star in the upcoming Fred Hampton biopic Jesus Was My Homeboy, which is being produced by Panther director Ryan Coogler.
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The film, being directed by Shaka King (High Maintenance) and co-written by King and Will Berson (Scrubs), will follow the rise of Black Panther Fred Hampton leading up to his assassination, all told from the perspective of William O’Neal, the FBI informant who infiltrated the Panthers and gave the information that led to Hampton’s death.
Kaluuya is currently in talks to portray Hampton, who rose to the ranks of the Chicago branch of the political party in the late ’60s, and Stanfield is in talks to play O’Neal, who was recruited by the FBI following multiple arrests for car thefts and impersonating federal officers, coming to a deal with the agency to act as their informant in exchange for a monthly stipend and dropping of the charges.
Coogler has been breaking new ground in the film industry with the 2015 sports sequel spin-off Creed and last year’s critical and commercial smash Black Panther, which earned seven Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, becoming the first superhero film to earn the nomination. He is currently working on writing the script to the Marvel superhero hit, as well as attached to direct the drama Wrong Answer based on the Atlanta Public Schools cheating scandal and producing the long-awaited Space Jam sequel starring LeBron James (Trainwreck).
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Kaluuya rose to fame in 2017 with his starring role in Jordan Peele’s acclaimed horror-thriller Get Out, which earned him the Oscar nomination for Best Actor, and followed it up with supporting roles in Black Panther and the acclaimed heist film Widows.
Steinfeld has been enjoying a career uprising for just over five years now, beginning with the acclaimed indie drama Short Term 12 and steadliy continuing with roles in the acclaimed biopic Selma, horror-thriller Get Out, Netflix’s adaptation of the hit manga Death Note, the well-received indie dramedy Sorry to Bother You and the FX hit comedy Atlanta alongside creator/writer/star Donald Glover. He will next be seen in Rian Johnson (Star Wars: The Last Jedi)’s ensemble murder mystery Knives Out, which is set for a November 27 release.
(Photo credit: Getty Images)
