Antoine Fuqua Developing Movie About Black Panther Leader as Part of Sony First-Look Deal
Antoine Fuqua is developing a movie about Black Panther leader Fred Hampton at Sony as part of a first-look deal he has signed with the studio.
The untitled movie is a passion project for Fuqua. It’s based on Jeffrey Haas’ book “The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How the FBI and the Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther,” which has been adapted by Chris Smith.
Hampton was killed in 1969 while sleeping in his apartment during a raid conducted by a state tactical unit in conjunction with the Chicago Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. His death was ruled as a justifiable homicide by the inquest. A civil lawsuit resulted in a settlement of $1.85 million in 1982.
The first film under Fuqua’s deal will be “The Equalizer 2,” which will hit theaters on Sept. 14, 2018. The film marks the first sequel of Fuqua and Denzel Washington’s careers. “The Equalizer” grossed $192 million worldwide in 2014.
Fuqua also directed “The Magnificent Seven” for Sony and MGM last year. His other credits include “Training Day,” “Southpaw,” “Olympus Has Fallen,” and “Brooklyn’s Finest.” He began his career with 1998’s “The Replacement Killers,” which Sony released.
“I started my feature film career almost 20 years ago at Columbia,” Fuqua said. “Since then some of my biggest career achievements have been with the studio. I am proud of our work together and am very much looking forward to this new collaboration and our upcoming creative endeavors.”
The news was first reported by Deadline Hollywood.
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