The star of Black Panther and the Oscar-nominated director of BlacKkKlansman are teaming up, as Chadwick Boseman is nearing a deal to play a key supporting role in Spike Lee‘s next film Da 5 Bloods. The drama, which deals with the aftermath of the Vietnam War, will co-star Delroy Lindo and Jean Reno, and it’s expected to land at Netflix.
Da 5 Bloods follows a group of African-American Vietnam veterans who return to Vietnam and learn to come to terms with each other while they search for the remains of a fellow soldier and hidden gold.
Lindo will be playing one of the four leads (the fifth Blood died in Vietnam), and while it’s unclear whether Boseman will be playing Lindo’s son, he is expected to play the son of one of the four leads. Now, we don’t know who those actors will be yet, but prior to this announcement, I’d heard that Lee was courting his old pal Samuel L. Jackson, as well as Don Cheadle and Giancarlo Esposito. As far as I can tell, Reno’s role will be fairly small, as he’ll be playing an unscrupulous French businessman who deals in nefarious activities in Vietnam.
Lee and his BlacKkKlansman collaborator Kevin Willmott worked on the script together many, many years ago, based on an original screenplay by Danny Bilson and Paul DeMeo. Matthew Billingsly also had a hand in the script. Lee is producing the film with Jon Kilik, Beatriz Levin and Lloyd Levin.
Lee plans to start shooting next month once awards season is over and he can abandon the campaign trail to return behind the camera. Keep in mind that he’s already in business with Netflix on the TV adaptation of his early film She’s Gotta Have It. The iconic filmmaker is nominated for three Oscars this year as the co-writer, director and producer of BlacKkKlansman, which was also Lee’s highest-grossing movie since 2006’s Inside Man.
Speaking of box office success, Boseman is coming off of Black Panther, which grossed $700 million stateside en route to becoming the third-highest grossing domestic release of all time. The Marvel star who made his name playing Jackie Robinson and James Brown will soon be seen in Avengers: Endgame and the STX thriller 17 Bridges. He’s represented by Greene & Associates Talent Agency and Management 360.
Lindo has worked with Lee multiple times, including the films Clockers, Crooklyn and Malcolm X. He’s repped by APA, while Lee is repped by ICM Partners. Reno, best known for starring in The Professional and Mission: Impossible, is repped by AS Talents and Gateway Management Company. Variety broke the news.
via Collider