“Judas and the Black Messiah” tells the story of Fred Hampton, Chairman of the Illinois Black Panther Party, and his betrayal by FBI informant William O’Neal.
The film is released in theaters and on HBO Max simultaneously and it has garnered critical acclaim. So let’s dive into some trivia and facts about the new film.
- Judas and the Black Messiah is a 2021 American biographical drama film
- The film is directed and produced by Shaka King
- It is based on a screenplay written by King and Will Berson
- Based on a story by King, Berson, as well as, Kenny and Keith Lucas
- The film takes place in Chicago and details the betrayal of Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya), chairman of the Black Panther Party in the late 1960s, at the hands of Bill O’Neal (Lakeith Stanfield), an FBI informant
- Jesse Plemons, Dominique Fishback, Ashton Sanders, Darrell Britt-Gibson, Lil Rel Howery, Algee Smith, and Martin Sheen also star
- A Fred Hampton biopic had been in the works for several years
- Both the Lucas Brothers and Will Berson were writing and shopping screenplays individually since 2014
- Berson’s version almost got made with F. Gary Gray directing
- That fell through and King was hired to helm the project
- The cast joined in 2019, with the blessings of Hampton’s family
- Filming took place that fall in Ohio
- The film had its premiere at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival on February 1, 2021
- It was released in the United States by Warner Bros. Pictures on February 12, simultaneously in theaters and digitally on HBO Max
- The film was lauded by critics
- they praised King’s direction, the performances, and its timely themes
- For his performance, Kaluuya was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the Golden Globes and Screen Actor Guild Awards
- Kenny and Keith Lucas began pitching the idea of a Fred Hampton biopic to A24 and Netflix in 2014, selling it as “The Conformist meets The Departed”
While working with Shaka King on a television pilot in 2016, they pitched their idea for a Hampton film, and he became intrigued - Will Berson had also written a Hampton screenplay about the same time and it was in early stages of production, with F. Gary Gray in talks to direct, Casey Affleck and John Powers Middleton in negotiations to produce, and Jaden Smith and O’Shea Jackson Jr. being eyed to portray Hampton
- After that version fell through, Berson and King rewrote his script with help from the Lucas Brothers
- In February 2019, it was announced Daniel Kaluuya and Lakeith Stanfield had joined the cast of the film
- With Ryan Coogler producing and Warner Bros. Pictures distributing
- King, Kaluuya, and producer Charles D. King (who provided half the film’s $26 million budget) reached out to Hampton’s widow Njeri Johnson and her son, Fred Hampton Jr., to get their blessing on the film and casting.
- In September 2019, Jesse Plemons, Dominique Fishback and Ashton Sanders joined the cast of the film
- With Algee Smith being cast the following month
- Principal photography began in Cleveland, Ohio on October 21, 2019
- On November 25 and 26, 2019, filming took place at the Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield
- After 42 days, production concluded on December 19, 2019
- Originally announced as Jesus Was My Homeboy
- The film was later reported as being titled Judas and the Black Messiah
- Before being described as untitled
- Kristan Sprague began editing the film in January 2020, prior the dozens of studios being shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York, which later resulted in crew members working remotely during post-production
- In July 2020, the film’s title was confirmed to be Judas and the Black Messiah
- The film’s score was composed by Mark Isham and Craig Harris
- It features an original song titled “Fight for You” performed by H.E.R., who also co-wrote with D’Mile and Tiara Thomas
- An accompanying 22-track music album called “Judas and the Black Messiah: The Inspired Album” came out on the day of the film’s digital release
- With songs from many prominent rappers, such as Jay-Z, ASAP Rocky and Nas, as well as a posthumous appearance by Nipsey Hussle
- Judas and the Black Messiah had its world premiere at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival on February 1, 2021 at both virtual and in-person screenings
- The film was released on February 12, 2021, in the United States, by Warner Bros. Pictures
- The film was originally scheduled to be released on August 21, 2020
- Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was postponed to 2021
- As part of its plans for all of its 2021 films, Warner Bros. Pictures will also stream the film simultaneously on the HBO Max service for a period of one month, after which the film will be removed until the normal home media release schedule period
- Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports a 97% rating
- With 195 critics reviewing the film
- It holds an average rating of 8.3/10
- The website’s critics consensus reads: “An electrifying dramatization of historical events, Judas and the Black Messiah is a forceful condemnation of racial injustice — and a major triumph for its director and stars”
- On Metacritic, it holds an average score of 87 out of 100
- Based on 44 critics
- The film received “universal acclaim”
- Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of “A” on an A+ to F scale
