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Photo by Glen Wilson
The first official trailer for Judas and the Black Messiah just dropped and in it, Daniel Kaluuya transforms into notorious Black Panther Fred Hampton.
The film, directed by Shaka King, and produced by Ryan Coogler, is the story of the infamous chairman of the Illinois Black Panther Part, and his fateful betrayal by FBI informant William O’Neal, played by LaKeith Stanfield.
Hampton was 21 years old when he was assassinated by the FBI, who coerced petty criminal O’Neal into helping them silence him and the Black Panther Party. They could not kill Hampton’s legacy, however, and 50 years later, his words still echo…louder than ever.
Read More: Actor Daniel Kaluuya says he ‘happens to be Black’ but is tired of talking about race
The film also stars Jesse Plemons, Dominique Fishback, Ashton Sanders, and Martin Sheen.
Check out the description:
In 1968, a young, charismatic activist named Fred Hampton became Chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party, who were fighting for freedom, the power to determine the destiny of the Black community, and an end to police brutality and the slaughter of Black people.
Chairman Fred was inspiring a generation to rise up and not back down to oppression, which put him directly in the line of fire of the government, the FBI and the Chicago Police. But to destroy the revolution, they had to do it from both the outside…and the inside. Facing prison, William O’Neal is offered a deal by the FBI: if he will infiltrate the Black Panthers and provide intel on Hampton, he will walk free. O’Neal takes the deal.
Now a comrade in arms in the Black Panther Party, O’Neal lives in fear that his treachery will be discovered even as he rises in the ranks. But as Hampton’s fiery message draws him in, O’Neal cannot escape the deadly trajectory of his ultimate betrayal.
Though his life was cut short, Fred Hampton’s impact has continued to reverberate. The government saw the Black Panthers as a militant threat to the status quo and sold that lie to a frightened public in a time of growing civil unrest. But the perception of the Panthers was not reality. In inner cities across America, they were providing free breakfasts for children, legal services, medical clinics and research into sickle cell anemia, and political education. And it was Chairman Fred in Chicago, who, recognizing the power of multicultural unity for a common cause, created the Rainbow Coalition—joining forces with other oppressed peoples in the city to fight for equality and political empowerment.
Read More: Ryan Coogler to produce Fred Hampton biopic starring Daniel Kaluuya and Lakeith Stanfield
Check out the first official trailer for Judas and the Black Messiah below:
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