David Oyelowo to star in Showtime’s The President is Missing

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Last year, President Bill Clinton teamed up with James Patterson for "The President is Missing," a political thriller novel which Showtime snagged the rights to before it was even published. The project is now in pre-production and expected to shoot next year, and it's been reported that David Oyelowo (SELMA) is slated to star. Any relation to my favourite Troy McClure movie, THE PRESIDENT'S NECK IS MISSING?

The President is Missing follows "a powerless and politically aimless vice president (Oyelowo) who unexpectedly becomes president halfway into his administration’s first term, despite his every wish to the contrary. He walks right into a secret, world-threatening crisis, both inside and outside the White House. Attacked by friends and enemies alike, with scandal and conspiracy swirling around him, he is confronted with a terrible choice: keep his head down, toe the party line and survive, or act on his stubborn, late-developing conscience and take a stand." In addition to starring, David Oyelowo will also serve as executive producer alongside Christopher McQuarrie, Anthony Peckham (who penned the series), James Patterson, Bill Clinton, and others. In a statement, President of Entertainment at Showtime Networks Gary Levine said:

David brings such enormous depth, sensitivity and power to every role he plays. Having him as our lead ensures that our series will have the exhilarating suspense of a political thriller along with the juicy complexity of a character drama.

While I know next to nothing about "The President is Missing" beyond the above synopsis, I do like David Oyelowo quite a bit, so I'll be keeping an eye on this series as it begins to take shape. Oyelowo has a few projects just over the horizon, including PETER RABBIT 2 on April 3, 2020, as well as Doug Liman's sci-fi CHAOS WALKING and Brenda Chapman's fantasy drama COME AWAY. He was also recently seen in DON'T LET GO, a psychological thriller, earlier this summer.