It will tell the true story of Ron Stallworth, a black man who infiltrated the KKK.
John David Washington, son of Denzel Washington, who stars in HBO’s Ballers, is in talks to star in the thriller which is set to begin production this fall.
Lee will direct and produce. Peele will also produce. Sean McKittrick, Shaun Redick and Raymond Mansfield of QC Entertainment and Jason Blum of Blumhouse Productions are also producing.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, who broke this news, the project will tell Washington’s story who “in 1978 answered an ad in the local newspaper seeking new Klan members. He not only gained membership, but rose through the ranks to become the head of the local chapter. Stallworth, who is black, was able to gather all sorts of intelligence by pretending to be a white supremacist on the phone or via other forms of correspondence but sent a white fellow officer in his place for any in-person meetings. During his undercover work, Stallworth managed to sabotage several cross-burnings and other activities of the notorious hate group.”
Stallworth wrote a book in 2014, titled Black Klansman, on his experience, and it is not connected to the 1966 Blaxploitation film of the same name.
While it seems like this is a story adapted from current events, THR says Lee and Peele have been working on this for two years now.
