Earlier this year, we got word that a new project from director Ryan Coogler and actor Michael B. Jordan, who worked together on the likes of Black Panther, Creed, and Fruitvale Station, was in development via the former's Proximity Media production company.
The movie was said to be so top secret that "executives and buyers were forced to make the pilgrimage to the Beverly Hills offices of WME, the agency that represents Coogler and Jordan, in order to take a gander at the script," but some details have since leaked.
The film was initially described as a "genre feature," with a "period element to the story," and we'd later learn that it was actually going to be set in Jim Crow-era South and possibly involve both vampires and Southern supernatural traditions.
Now, THR is reporting that Hailee Steinfeld (Hawkeye, Edge of Seventeen) has signed on in an undisclosed role. She joins previously-announced cast members Wunmi Mosaku, Delroy Lindo and Jack O’Connell.
Jordan is believed to be playing twin brothers (not yet confirmed), and according to THR, "Mosaku may be playing Jordan’s romantic interest (but of which twin?); O’Connell may be a racist antagonist."
Coogler will also write the script and is on board as lead producer along with Zinzi Coogler and Sev Ohanian.
Coogler's last feature was Marvel Studios Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which saw Jordan reprise his role as Erik Killmonger for an afterlife cameo. Last we heard, the filmmaker was working on a third Black Panther instalment, but there's been no official word on his progress. Coogler is also said to be involved in at least one planned small-screen BP spin-off, and was recently rumored as a possible contender to helm Avengers: Secret Wars.
We wouldn't put too much stock in that one at the moment, especially since Coogler is also taking charge of an X-Files reboot for the Disney-owned 20th Century Studios.
What do you make of this casting news? Be sure to drop us a comment down below, and check out Jordan's return as Killmonger in Wakanda Forever.
In Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), Shuri (Letitia Wright), M’Baku (Winston Duke), Okoye (Danai Gurira), and the Dora Milaje (including Florence Kasumba), fight to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T’Challa’s death. As the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter, the heroes must band together with the help of War Dog Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) and Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) and forge a new path for the kingdom of Wakanda. Introducing Tenoch Huerta as Namor, king of a hidden undersea nation, the film also stars Dominique Thorne, Michaela Coel, Mabel Cadena, and Alex Livanalli.