Coming off an acclaimed performance in Yann Demange‘s White Boy Rick, Jonathan Majors may have lined up a big-time starring role. He’s in talks to play Bobby Seale in Aaron Sorkin‘s The Trial Of The Chicago 7.
Seale is the co-founder of the Black Panther party, and Sorkin’s film is set to follow the infamous 1969 trial of seven defendants charged by the federal government with conspiracy and more, which arose from protests in Chicago at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. The trial would then transfix a nation and open up questions about mayhem intended to undermine the U.S. government.
Seale was treated worse than any other defendant; he was refused legal representation and was bound and gagged during the hearing. He was given a mistrial and was separated from the other defendants.
Majors joins the already-cast Sacha Baron Cohen and Eddie Redmayne, who will play activists Abbie Hoffman and Tom Hayden, respectively. Although this will be arguably his biggest role to date, he has already signed on to some other great projects, including Jordan Peele‘s HBO drama Lovecraft Country, which will follow Majors’ character as he travels across 1950s Jim Crow America.
He has also signed on for a role in Max Winkler‘s Jungleland, which stars Charlie Hunnam, Jack O’Connell, and Jessica Barden, as well as recently wrapping production on the sci-fi movie Captive State, which is set for release in February 2019.
With this Chicago 7 role on top of his White Boy Rick performance, which could net him a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination, Majors could be looking at a breakout year. Sorkin plans to write and direct the film, and anyone that is familiar with his work knows that he will give his actors mountains of great dialogue to chew on.
#Peace.Love.TheTrialOfTheChicago7
