The Russo Brothers Are Teaming Up With The Obamas to Produce Adaptation EXIT WEST Starring Riz Ahmed at Netflix

Joe Russo and Anthony Russo, the brothers and directors best known for their work on the Captain America and Avengers films, have teamed up with another famous duo, Michelle and Barack Obama. The brothers and the former president and his wife are coming together to produce a film adaptation of author Mohsin Hamid’s bestselling novel, Exit West. Riz Ahmed, known for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Venom, and The OA, is set to star in the film.

The movie will be directed by Yann Demange (White Boy Rick), and adapted for the screen by Jessica Goldberg, who adapted the novel Cherry for Netflix, which was also produced by the Russo brothers, and will come out later this year.

Here’s the synopsis:

Exit West tackles the global refugee crisis and takes place in an unidentified country in the Middle East, where young Saeed and burqa-wearing Nadia flee their home after Saeed’s mother is killed by a stray bullet stemming from violent clashes between guerrillas and the local government. The couple joins other migrants traveling to safer havens via carefully guarded doors. Through one door, they wind up in a crowded camp on the Greek Island of Mykonos. Through another, they secure a private room in an abandoned London mansion populated mostly by displaced Nigerians. A third door takes them to California’s Marin County. In each location, their relationship is tested by their struggle to find food, adequate shelter and a sense of belonging among emigrant communities. The allegorical tale shows the contrast between the migrants’ tenuous daily reality and that of the privileged native population who’d prefer that they disappear.

This sounds like a good project for all involved. A heavy, important story that is in the right hands. I’ll be interested in checking it out. How about you?

Source: Collider