John Boyega is set to play a younger version of Denzel Washington‘s apocalypse survivor in a prequel to The Book of Eli. Boyega will also executive produce the new series, which is currently being shopped to buyers. Deadline reports that Boyega is working alongside Gary Whitta, who wrote the original film, and Albert and Allen Hughes, the directing duo who helmed it. The prequel series will take place thirty years before the events of the 2010 film; it took place approximately thirty years after a nuclear catastrophe ravaged the Earth, so this series will likely take place in the immediate wake of it.
Boyega has science fiction bonafides; his breakout role came in Joe Cornish‘s alien invasion pic Attack the Block, which now has a sequel in production that Boyega will co-write. He further burnished his science fiction credentials with his role as rebel Stormtrooper Finn in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, which kicked off with The Force Awakens in 2015. Boyega recently starred in They Cloned Tyrone, a sci-fi comedy from Juel Taylor. He has also appeared in The Woman King, Small Axe, and Breaking; The Book of Eli will be his first major television lead role.
What Is ‘The Book of Eli’?
Released in 2010, The Book of Eli starred Washington as the titular Eli, a wanderer in a post-apocalyptic Earth who seeks to deliver an important, mysterious book to a secret refuge on Alcatraz Island. Eli is one of the few people who can read in the crumbling ruins of the world. Along the way, he passes through a town ruled by Carnegie (Gary Oldman); Carnegie soon becomes his enemy, but Eli befriends his mistress Claudia (Jennifer Beals) and her daughter Solara (Mila Kunis). Together, he and Solara set out to deliver his book before Carnegie and the rest of the apocalyptic scavengers can take it — and their lives. The film also starred Ray Stevenson, Michael Gambon, Tom Waits, and Malcolm McDowell. The film received mixed reviews from critics, and holds a 47% “Rotten” rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but it was successful at the box office, earning $157 million USD on an $80 million budget.
Together, the Hughes brothers broke out with their searing crime drama Menace II Society, and went on to direct Dead Presidents and From Hell; The Book of Eli is their last collaborative effort. The two have gone their separate ways; Albert directed The Good Lord Bird and last year’s John Wick spin-off The Continental, while Allen directed Broken City in 2013. Whitta co-wrote After Earth and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and wrote for the video game Forspoken last year.
The Book of Eli prequel series is in development, and has not yet set a release date. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates, and watch the trailer for 2010’s The Book of Eli below.
via Collider