Winston Duke, who’s starred in films like Black Panther and Us, has been cast to portray Markus Garvey in an upcoming drama from Amazon Studios, titled, Marked Man. The film will be directed by Andrew Dosunmu. Little Fires Everywhere actor Jesse Williams and She’s Gotta Have It’s DeWanda Wise are in talks to star.
Marked Man is set in the 1920s and will follow a young Black man who joins J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI and infiltrates Garvey’s ‘Universal Negro Improvement Association,’ which tests his loyalty to his race and country. Garvey was a political activist and key figure in the Black Nationalism of the 20th century.
The film is partly inspired by the Colin Grant biography Negro with a Hat: The Rise and Fall of Marcus Garvey. Acclaimed playwright Kwame Kwei-Armah is writing the script, which was developed by Esther Douglas with Support from the BFI Film Fund.
Dosunmu started out in filmmaking with music videos for artists like Isaac Hayes, Common, Tracy Chapman and Wyclef Jean, before moving on to direct features like Restless City, Mother of George, and Where is Kyra, which starred Michell Pfieffer and Kiefer Sutherland.
The announcement of the film comes shortly after the release of Judas and the Black Messiah, which also followed a young Black man infiltrating a group led by a famous and influential Black political activist on behalf of J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI. That film received high praise from critics and audiences.
It’s unclear when we’ll hear more about Marked Man. The film’s leading star has yet to be determined and there’s currently no planned release window.
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