Spike Lee, Jordan Peele Team for ‘Black Klansman’ Thriller
Spike Lee and Jordan Peele will team for Black Klansman, a thriller based on the true story of an African-American police officer that infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan.
Lee will direct the film with Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions and Blumhouse Productions producing Black Klansman. Peele and Blumhouse previously partnered on the director’s hit horror film Get Out.
John David Washington, the son of Denzel Washington and co-star in HBO’s Ballers, is in talks to star as Ron Stallworth, the Colorado Springs, Colorado detective who penetrated the KKK in 1978 after responding to an ad for new members, the Hollywood Reporter writes.
Even though Stallworth was black, he managed to become head of his local KKK chapter by pretending to be a white supremacist via phone or written correspondence; when his presence was needed, Stallworth recruited a white officer to take his place. Thanks to his detective work, Stallworth –who authored the 2014 book The Black Klansman – sabotaged cross burnings and other KKK activities.
Despite its title, the film is not associated with the 1966 blaxploitation film also called The Black Klansman, THR adds.
Following the success of Get Out, which grossed over $200 million on a $5 million budget and received unanimous acclaim, Peele signed a first-look deal with Universal Pictures, who will produce the director’s next film, an untitled social thriller he also penned.
Lee last helmed 2015’s Chi-raq and the 2016 documentary Michael Jackson’s Journey From Motown to Off the Wall. The director is also working on a Netflix series based on his 1986 debut film She’s Gotta Have It.