Regina King To Make Directorial Debut With ‘One Night In Miami’

Fresh off of slaying it as Sister Knight on HBO’s new fan favorite series (kick rocks, Game of Thrones!), Regina King is now on the cusp of making her directorial debut as she’s signed on to tackle her first feature film, One Night In Miami.

Based on Kemp Powers’ Olivier-nominated stage play, One Night In Miami is a story that features the legends and icons of the 60’s that we still revere to this day.

Set on the night of February 25, 1964, “One Night in Miami” follows a young, brash Cassius Clay as he emerges from the Miami Beach Convention Center the new Heavyweight Boxing Champion of the World.  Against all odds, he defeated Sonny Liston and shocked the sports world. While crowds of people swarm Miami Beach to celebrate the match, Clay – unable to stay on the island because of Jim Crow-era segregation laws – spends the evening at the Hampton House Motel in Miami’s African American Overtown neighborhood celebrating with three of his closest friends: Malcolm X, Sam Cooke, and Jim Brown.

During this historic evening, these icons, who each were the very representation of the Pre-Black Power Movement and felt the social pressure their cross-over celebrity brought, shared their thoughts with each other about their responsibilities as influencers, standing up, defending their rights and moving the country forward to equality and empowerment for all black people.  The next morning, the four men emerge determined to define a new world for themselves and their community.

Aw man this sounds like it’s going to be amazing.

Directed and produced by Regina King, One Night In Miami will also feature Kingsley Ben-Adir as Malcolm X, Eli Goree as The Champ, Cassius Clay (a.k.a Muhammad Ali), and Aldis Hodge (Clemency) as NFL legend Jim Brown.

Production on the film began on January 7th with a targeted release date yet to be announced, but best believe it’s going to be highly anticipated when it’s finally announced.

Meanwhile we’re still waiting for word on whether or not HBO will be ordering a second season of Watchmen as their original intent was for it to be a one shot series. Don’t f*ck this up, HBO…