For nine seasons, John Krasinski pulled wacky pranks and made goofy little faces at the camera on NBC’s The Office, but these days he seems to be specifically avoiding Jim Halpert-type roles. He appeared in Michael Bay’s 13 Hours, he’s going to star in Amazon’s Jack Ryan series, and now The Wrap is reporting that Krasinski has signed on to star in Kathryn Bigelow’s upcoming drama about the 1967 Detroit riots.
We don’t know anything about his character, but we do know he’ll be appearing alongside John Boyega, Will Poulter, and Jacob Latimore. Also, the movie will reportedly “explore issues of systemic racism” in Detroit, so, given the fact that Krasinski is a white guy, there’s a pretty good chance he’ll be playing an evil racist. Maybe that’ll finally stop people from always thinking of him as Jim Halpert? (It won’t, but you’ve got to respect him for trying.)
Bigelow’s film doesn’t have a title or a studio attached yet, but it’s being set up for a release at some point next year to mark the 50th anniversary of the riots.