In his career so far, Barry Jenkins has focused on crafting intimate character studies in his films including “Medicine For Melancholy“, and the Oscar-winning, “Moonlight.” It’s a safe bet that his upcoming adaptation of James Baldwin‘s terrific, “If Beale Street Could Talk“, will be similarly constructed. However, the filmmaker is getting ready to significantly shift gears.
Deadline reports that Jenkins has signed up to direct “Expatriate,” with “Black Panther” star Chadwick Boseman leading the picture, which he also co-wrote. From those details alone, we’re pretty excited. But we’ve even more so upon learning that it’s going to be a thriller about a 1970s plane hijacking. That’s all that’s being shared about the project right now, but the movie will be Jenkins’ first big studio project, with Universal backing the film. As for Boseman, it’s also a step up. He wrote and directed the short, “Blood Over A Broken Pawn,” but this is certainly a leap forward in his filmmaking aspirations.
No word yet on when the project might shoot, but it’s probably a way off as Jenkins will likely spend the bulk of the year finishing up ‘Beale Street’ (which is now in post-production) and getting it out into the world.