With “BlacKkKlansman” and “Black Panther,” respectively, Spike Lee and Chadwick Boseman had a great 2018, and now it looks like they’ll have a solid 2019 – together. In an exclusive, Variety reports that the now-Oscar-nominated director is pairing with the lead of last year’s biggest domestic earner for a movie at Netflix called “Da 5 Bloods.”
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“To quote my brother Jay-Z from Da People’s Republic of Brooklyn ‘On to Da Next One,’” Lee said to Variety. That next one is about a group of Vietnam veterans who return to southeast Asia to find who they were before the war. Netflix is in discussion to be the film’s distributor, marking the first feature-length collaboration between the director and the streaming giant, adding yet another top-tier auteur to their stable of content. They previously partnered on the series adaptation of Lee’s own “She’s Gotta Have It.”
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Lee favorite Delroy Lindo is in talks to star, after working with the filmmaker on “Clockers,” “Crooklyn” and most notably “Malcom X.” Lee is also talking to Jean Reno about a role.
In addition to directing “Da 5 Bloods,” Lee will handle the script with Kevin Willmott. The film is based on an original screenplay by Danny Bilson and Paul DeMeo, with a rewrite by Matthew Billingsly. As usual, Lee will be a producer for his film, alongside Beatriz Levin, Lloyd Levin, and Jon Kilik.
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Lee won’t get much time to rest after promoting “BlackKkKlansman” on the awards circuit. Sources think production could start as quickly as March once Oscar season is (finally) over.