Daniel Kaluuya and Lakeith Stanfield in the Talks to Star in Film about Black Panther Party Leader Fred Hampton
Daniel Kaluuya and Lakeith Stanfield are being considered to star in the upcoming film, Jesus is My Homeboy, a film about Black Panther Party activist Fred Hampton.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the acclaimed actors are reportedly in negotiations to star in the film, which is set to be produced by Ryan Coogler. If the deal in made, Kaluuya will play Hampton, the civil right activist and chairman of the Black Panther Party’s Illinois chapter. who was assassinated by the FBI in a raid by a tactical unit. Fellow Black Panther, Mark Clark, age 22, was also killed during the raid. Stanfield would play William O’Neal, the FBI informant who went under cover and infiltrated the Black Panthers in order to obtain information that assisted in the murder of Hampton.
Following the murder of the BPP activists, there were investigations into the 1969 raid – switching the ruling from justified homicide to a state-sponsored assassination. It has been rumored that O’Neal was tormented by the role he played in the murder of Hampton and Clark, possibly leading to his suicide in 1990.
As THR reports, the film will follow the rise and death of Hampton through the eyes of O’Neal.
Along with Coogler, the Warner Bros project will also be produced by Charles King’s Macro. Shaka King (People of Earth, High Maintenance) will direct the film from a script he wrote with Will Benson. Sev Ohanian, Zinzi Coogler and Macro’s Kim Roth and Poppy Hanks will serve as executive producers.
At this time, Jesus is My Homeboy does not have a release date.
Photo Credit: BEVERLY HILLS, CA – OCTOBER 26: Daniel Kaluuya attends the 2018 British Academy Britannia Awards presented by Jaguar Land Rover and American Airlines at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on October 26, 2018 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Rich Fury/Getty Images for BAFTA LA)
LOS ANGELES, CA – JANUARY 05: Lakeith Stanfield attends The BAFTA Los Angeles Tea Party at Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills on January 5, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images)
