‘Judas and the Black Messiah’ Trailer Features Daniel Kaluuya and Lakeith Stanfield (Watch)
Warner Bros. has released the official trailer for “Judas and the Black Messiah,” a biopic about the assassination of Black Panther Party leader Fred Hampton.
Directed by Shaka King, the film stars Oscar-nominated actor Daniel Kaluuya as Hampton, chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party, and Lakeith Stanfield as William O’Neal, a FBI informant whose betrayal leads to Hampton’s death.
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The trailer emphasizes the juxtaposition between the two men by cutting between Hampton leading powerful chants at Black Panther meetings and O’Neal watching him nervously, painfully aware of what he must do. The preview also provides a bit of context to the betrayal, showing how O’Neal’s arrests for car theft and impersonating a federal officer leave him with the decision of going to prison or helping the FBI take down Hampton by infiltrating the party.
Beyond Kaluuya and Stanfield, the cast includes Jesse Plemons, Dominque Fishback, Ashton Sanders, Algee Smith, Lil Rel Howery, Jermaine Fowler, Martin Sheen, Robert Longstreet, Darrell Britt-Gibson, Dominique Thorne, Caleb Eberhardt and Amari Cheatom. “Judas and the Black Messiah” is produced by King, Ryan Coogler and Charles D. King, with the screenplay by King and Will Berson and the story credited to King, Berson and The Lucas Brothers.
The film was originally set for release on Aug. 21, but was pulled from the Warner Bros. schedule due to the coronavirus pandemic. No date is attached to the trailer, though it does note that the film will only be shown in theaters.
Watch the trailer below.
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