Jordan Peele delivered clever and potent insight on race relations with Get Out—not to mention made a stellar horror-comedy—and now he’s poised to do it again alongside none other than Spike Lee. Variety reports that the two directors are teaming up to make Black Klansman, a crime thriller about the Ku Klux Klan. John David Washington, son of Denzel and one of the stars of Ballers, is being considered for the lead in the film, which is based on “the true story of an African-American police officer who infiltrated the KKK.
The inspiration for the film, Colorado Springs detective Ron Stallworth went undercover (hood) after responding to a recruitment ad in 1978. He feigned white supremacy so well that he became the damn head of his local chapter. Stallworth accomplished all of this by phone and mail, sending a white police officer for any in-person meetings. The detective was even able to sabotage cross-burnings and activities while part of the KKK.
Relative newcomers Charlie Wachtel and David Rabinowitz are adapting the script with some help from Lee, who will direct the film. Peele is producing along with Jason Blum, Sean McKittrick, Shaun Redick, and Raymond Mansfield. There’s currently no word on when production on Black Klansman will begin.