THE HURT LOCKER. ZERO DARK THIRTY. Two movies from director Kathryn Bigelow and writer Mark Boal that are so goddamned perfect you’d think Bigelow and Boal are two halves of Zeus’ shinbone that were separated, but have been reattached to form a godly whole. But now, those two flicks are about to get a bouncing, badass baby brother, and starring an equally badass leading man.
Deadline reports that Anthony Mackie will be reteaming with the duo (whose HURT LOCKER gave Mackie his breakout role), starring in a movie about the 1967 Detroit Riots written by Boal and directed by Bigelow. You can already hear the gold clanking and critics gushing. Ah, what music they make!
Mackie’s role doesn’t have a whole lot of light shed on it, other than that his character will be a returning Vietnam vet who has an integral role in the drama surrounding the five-day long riots. Mackie will be joined by John Boyega, Jack Reynor, Ben O’Toole and Will Poulter.
Considering how superhero movies, animated movies and movies where Mark Wahlberg goes ‘Merica on everyone’s asses are the only thing audiences wanna see nowadays, I can’t see many people getting as excited about this drama as I am. HURT LOCKER and ZERO DARK THIRTY were my favorite movies of their years, and a movie about the 1967 riots will be perfect material for Boal and Bigelow. Boal’s detailed, meticulous and engaging writing mixed with Bigelow’s gripping, intense directing will no doubt create a jarring and powerful experience. Sure, another STAR WARS movie comes out next year, but this is the one that has me excited.
The untitled Detroit Riots film is set to release some time in 2017, possibly later in the year during Oscar season.