‘Judas and the Black Messiah’ Filmmakers, Lil Rel Howery Tackling American Political Insurrection Movie

The filmmaker and producers behind the Oscar-nominated Judas and the Black Messiah, along with Get Out scene-stealer Lil Rel Howery, have teamed up for what is being billed as a feature centered on an “American political insurrection.”

Shaka King will direct the project and also produce with Ryan Coogler, Charles D. King and Howery, per the announcement made by the producers. Coogler and Charles King are producing via their respective banners, Proximity Media and MACRO.

King will co-write the script and the project is on the lookout to build out the writing team. Details for the untitled project are scarce, but it is known to be set in modern times and may span several genres.

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“American political insurrection” is a hot-loaded term and automatically calls up the events of Jan. 6, when a mob of supporters of former President Donald Trump stormed the United States Capitol. More than 100 people were injured and several died, including members of the Capitol police force.

Executive producing are Proximity Media’s Sev Ohanian and Zinzi Coogler and MACRO’s Poppy Hanks and Greta Fuentes. Brandon Harris is also an exec producer.

Black Messiah, which Shaka King directed and co-wrote with three other scribes, told the true story of the infiltration of the Black Panther Party. It snagged six Oscar nominations, winning two, one for beset actor in a supporting role and one for original song. Its nomination for best picture was historic as it marked the first time an all-Black producing team was recognized in the category.

Before Black Messiah, Shaka King directed episodes of Hulu’s Shrill and People of Earth.

Coogler began production on Black Panther 2 last week and his Proximity banner recently signed a deal to create shows for Disney+. The company’s next release is Space Jam 2, which opens July 16 on both HBO Max and in theaters.

MACRO, which is focused on representing the perspectives of Black people and people of color in production, management and branding, co-financed movies such as Mudbound, Sorry to Bother You and Just Mercy.

Since breaking out with Jordan Peele’s Get Out, Howery has appeared in movies ranging from horror thriller Bird Box to comedy Brittany Runs a Marathon to the Kevin Hart drama Fatherhood. He next appears with Ryan Reynolds in Free Guy.

Shaka King is repped by UTA and Goodman Genow. Howery is repped by UTA, Fourth Wall Management and Cohen & Gardner.