A month after abruptly exiting Netflix’s drama, Rebel Ridge, John Boyega has found a new project.
The actor is starring in 892, an indie drama being produced by Salman Al-Rashid and Sam Frohman of Salmira Productions and Joshuah Bearman and Mackenzie Fargo of Epic.
And while Boyega caused a shuttering of a production with his Ridge exit, here he seems to be saving one from falling apart.
Jonathan Majors was originally due to star in the project but had to bow out when 892’s shifting start dates came into conflict with Ant-Man 3, which shoots July in London. Shifting start dates is common in indie filmmaking due to revolving financing, which can sometimes cause cast changes.
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According to sources, the project had several other actors ready to go and they too left when Majors bowed out. The producers and first time feature director Abi Damaris Corbin were facing the prospect of shuttering down everything but attempted to power through, making a Hail Mary call for a name lead.
Enter Boyega, suddenly available after his departure from Ridge while it had already commenced photography with Jeremy Saulnier in the director’s seat. The British actor’s official reason for leaving was given as “family reasons,” but in fact, the situation was more complicated as issues from script to accommodations surfaced. Dozens of crewmembers on the project were let go as the production disbanded after attempts to find a new lead proved fruitless. That project now hopes to restart in spring 2022.
With Boyega on board, 892 was back like 1-2-3. Actors Michael K Williams, Nicole Beharie, Selenis Leyva and Olivia Washington joined the roll call and production began shooting quietly in Los Angeles this week.
With a script by Corbin and Kwame Kwei-Armah, the story follows a Marine war veteran who faces mental and emotional challenges when he tries to reintegrate back into civilian life. The project is based on a 2018 article by Aaron Gell.
CAA Media Finance and Endeavor Content arranged financing and will co-represent the project’s distribution rights.
Boyega, famously one of the stars of the recent Star Wars trilogy, is repped by Identity Agency Group.
