With everything going on in America right now, it can be tempting to wonder how filmmakers will portray the roiling current events. And there are still stories to be told based on events from the past, such as Judas And The Black Messiah, which stars LaKeith Stanfield, Daniel Kaluuya, Jesse Plemons and Martin Sheen. Check out the latest trailer...
The story runs as follows: FBI informant William O’Neal (Stanfield) infiltrates the Illinois Black Panther Party and is tasked with keeping tabs on their charismatic leader, Chairman Fred Hampton (Kaluuya). A career thief, O’Neal revels in the danger of manipulating both his comrades and his handler, Special Agent Roy Mitchell (Plemons). Hampton’s political prowess grows just as he’s falling in love with fellow revolutionary Deborah Johnson (Dominique Fishback). Meanwhile, a battle wages for O’Neal’s soul. Will he align with the forces of good? Or subdue Hampton and The Panthers by any means, as FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover (Sheen) commands?
Shaka King directed, working from a script he wrote with Will Berson, while Ryan Coogler is one of the executive producers. The film will be launched at the Sundance Film Festival this month and is Warners is aiming to have it in cinemas in February, though of course we'll see if that ends up happening.