There are movies that feel timely at the moment and then there are movies that are
always timely, whatever the moment, whatever the context. We've only seen approximately two minutes of
Judas and the Black Messiah, but this movie is definitely the latter.We have the first trailer for the Daniel Kaluuya and LaKeith Stanfield-led film to share, and judging by our heart rates, it's going to be a thrilling, dramatic and relevant watch to say the least.
Judas and the Black Messiah chronicles the true story of freedom fighter and Black Panther Party Chairman Fred Hampton (Kaluuya) who was assassinated by the FBI with the help of FBI informant William O’Neal (Stanfield).[video_embed id='2010374']WATCH: 'Your Morning' film critic Rad Simonpillai analyzes the ‘Judas and the Black Messiah’ trailer[/video_embed]In addition to the top-billed
Get Out reunion, the film stars Jesse Plemons as the FBI agent heading the investigation on Hampton,
The Hate U Give's Dominique Fishback as Hampton's fiancée Deborah Johnson, Martin Sheen as FBI director J. Edgar Hoover and Lil Rel Howery (another
Get Out alum).
JATBM is director Shaka King's feature film directorial debut and boasts
Black Panther director Ryan Coogler and
Just Mercy producer Charles D. King as executive producers.
Fred Hampton was the Chairman of the Black Panthers' Illinois chapter in 1969 where he not only called for revolution against white supremacy in the U.S. but also used his position to uplift the Black community and fight for its freedom. He brokered peace between street gangs in Chicago, taught daily political education classes, helped create the Black Panthers' Free Breakfast Program and founded the
Rainbow Coalition—uniting people within the Black, Latinx and white communities under the common goal of creating a more equitable society and pushing for political empowerment.
Judas and the Black Messiah tells the story of how the FBI identified 21-year-old Hampton as a threat and then coerced petty criminal William O’Neal into infiltrating the Black Panthers to feed them information on the revolutionary leader. O'Neal became Hampton's bodyguard and eventually provided the FBI with enough intel to carry out a raid on Hampton's home where he was killed on December 4, 1969.There's no public release date yet for the film, but the trailer assures it will be one to watch when it does ends up on the big screen.[video_embed id='2008965']BEFORE YOU GO: 'Captain Marvel 2' lands director [/video_embed]
