Daniel Kaluuya and Lakeith Stanfield are in negotiations to star in the historical drama Jesus Was My Homeboy. The project revolves around the life of Black Panther party leader Fred Hampton, and is being set up at Warner Bros. Ryan Coogler is on board as a producer.
Shaka King will direct the film from a script he penned alongside Will Berson. Their screenplay focuses on the death of Hampton, which occurred in 1969 while sleeping in his apartment during a raid conducted by a state tactical unit in conjunction with the Chicago Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
His death was ruled as a justifiable homicide after an inquest. However, a number of investigations pointed to a state-sponsored assassination, and subsequent civil lawsuits led to settlements by law enforcement, including a settlement of $1.85 million in 1982.
If the duo do indeed sign on, Kaluuya will play Hampton, while Stanfield would portray William O’Neal, who had provided the FBI with detailed plans of Hampton’s apartment. He committed suicide in 1990.
Jesus Was My Homeboy will quickly become one of the most anticipated in-development projects with Kaluuya and Stanfield attached, as well as Coogler, even though he is just a producer. Director King’s work includes his 2013 comedy-drama Newlyweeds, while he has also worked on HBO’s High Maintenance. This would certainly be his biggest project to date.
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