According to Deadline, NBA superstar LeBron James has teamed up with Universal Pictures to develop a film adaptation of New York Times bestselling author Jerry Craft’s graphic novel titled New Kid, which he will produce alongside Maverick Carter through their SpringHill Entertainment banner.
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Published in 2019, New Kid centers around Jordan Banks, a seventh grader who dreams of becoming a famous cartoonist. The graphic novel follows Jordan as he navigates his way into a new prestigious private school that his parents forced him to attend, instead of enrolling him in his dream art school. The coming-of-age graphic novel has also received a number of awards including becoming the first graphic novel to win a Newbery Medal and Coretta Scott King Award.
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The official book synopsis reads: New Kid is a timely, honest graphic novel about starting over at a new school where diversity is low and the struggle to fit in is real, from award-winning author-illustrator Jerry Craft.
Seventh grader Jordan Banks loves nothing more than drawing cartoons about his life. But instead of sending him to the art school of his dreams, his parents enroll him in a prestigious private school known for its academics, where Jordan is one of the few kids of color in his entire grade.
As he makes the daily trip from his Washington Heights apartment to the upscale Riverdale Academy Day School, Jordan soon finds himself torn between two worlds—and not really fitting into either one. Can Jordan learn to navigate his new school culture while keeping his neighborhood friends and staying true to himself?
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The New Kid film will also be executive produced by Craft along with Jamal Henderson and Spencer Beighley, who have also signed on to oversee the project in behalf of the SpringHill. This marks the second narrative feature that the studio is currently producing with the first being the upcoming 2021 film Space Jam: A New Legacy which also marks James’ first leading role in a movie.
(Photo Credit: George Pimentel/WireImage)
