Will Smith Is Developing HARLEM HELLFIGHTERS Graphic Novel for The History Channel
The author of the zombie novel World War Z, Max Brooks, also wrote a great fact-based graphic novel called Harlem Hellfighters, and Will Smith is set to produce an adaptation of it for The History Channel. This is going to make a great series because it will tell an incredible story.
The story is based on the real-life U.S. Army's 369th infantry division, “an African American unit fighting in Europe during World War I. Breaking down racial barriers, the unit spent more time in combat than any other American unit, never losing a foot of ground to the enemy, or a man to capture, and went on to win countless decorations. They faced tremendous discrimination during the war and even when they returned from the front as heroes.
“What changed for the men of Harlem was being assigned to a French command whereupon the Hellfighters first experienced something unknown to them in America at that time — racial equality. The unit would eventually be awarded the Croix de Guerre by the French Government for their distinction in battle in liberating France from the Germans.”
This is going to make a great series! The adaptation is being planned as a six-hour long limited series, and the script is being written by Jeremy Passmore and Andre Fabrizio, who wrote the Dwayne Johnson earthquake adventure movie San Andreas.
An adaptation of this graphic novel was originally set up as a feature film at Sony Pictures, but they never did anything with it. I actually think a series like this will suit the story better. This is one of those TV projects that’s worth being excited about. I can’t wait to see how it turns out.
Source: THR