Mahershala Ali Will Play Famed Boxer Jack Johnson in New HBO Limited Series Titled UNRULY
Mahershala Ali (True Detective, Alita: Battle Angel, Luke Cage) is set to play legendary boxer Jack Johnson in a 6-part limited series titled Unruly that’s currently in the works at HBO.
The show is described as “an unapologetically Black, no-holds-barred telling of Johnson’s life.” Johnson was the very first Black heavyweight boxing champion, the show will follow his “rise to greatness and the costs he paid for his skin color and defiance.”
The series is based on a PBS documentary that was made, Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson, which was produced and directed by Ken Burns, as well as the accompanying book by Geoffrey C. Ward. If you haven’t seen the documentary, you should watch it!
The series will be written and executive produced by Dominique Morisseau (Shameless), and Tom Hanks is set to executive produce through his Playtone production company with Gary Goetzman. Burns is also going to executive produce for Florentine Films.
This isn’t the first time that Ali has played Johnson. He played the boxer in a stage production of The Great White Hope in 2000 and has also talked about his desire to play Johnson onscreen. Well, he got his chance, and there’s no doubt that he’ll be great in the role!
Source: Variety