Ibris Elba and Caleb McLaughlin Slated To Star In “Concrete Cowboys”

Production has begun on the upcoming film Concrete Cowboys, with Ibris Elba and Stranger Things‘ actor  slated to star according to Deadline. Aside from Elba and McLaughlin, Jharrel Jerome is also set to star, coming off the heels of her Emmy-nominated role in Ava DuVernay’s When They See Us. Lorraine Toussaint of The Village and Byron Bowers of The Chi were casted in unspecified roles. Elba recently endured success for his scenery-chewing performance as Brixton Lore in last week’s Fast & Furious spinoff Hobbs & Shaw.

The film will take inspiration from the real-life Fletcher Street Stables, which serves as a black urban horsemanship community that survived in Philadelphia for the last 100 years as a shelter. Loosely based on Greg Neri’s novel Ghetto Cowboy, Concrete Cowboys follows a 15-year old boy Cole who’s taken in by his estranged father Harp in North Philadelphia and discovers the region’s cowboy subculture, which continues to exist despite immense poverty and crime.

Ricky Staub is currently attached as the film’s director, with its screenplay being written by Dan Walser. Staub made his feature film debut after working on a short film titled The Cage, which tells a story of survival in the gallows of Philadelphia. The film will be financed by Tucker Tooley Entertainment with Lee Daniels Entertainment slated to produce.