Chairman Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya) was 21 years old when he was assassinated by the FBI, who coerced a petty criminal named William O’Neal (LaKeith Stanfield) to help them silence him and the Black Panther Party. But they could not kill Fred Hampton’s legacy and, 50 years later, his words still echo…louder than ever.
I am a revolutionary!
In 1968, a young, charismatic activist named Fred Hampton became Chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party, who were fighting for freedom, the power to determine the destiny of the Black community, and an end to police brutality and the slaughter of Black people.
Chairman Fred was inspiring a generation to rise up and not back down to oppression, which put him directly in the line of fire of the government, the FBI and the Chicago Police. But to destroy the revolution, they had to do it from both the outside…and the inside. Facing prison, William O’Neal is offered a deal by the FBI: if he will infiltrate the Black Panthers and provide intel on Hampton, he will walk free. O’Neal takes the deal.
(Center front-back) LaKEITH STANFIELD as William O’Neal and DANIEL KALUUYA as Chairman Fred Hampton in Warner Bros. Pictures’ JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH, a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo by Glen Wilson
Now a comrade in arms in the Black Panther Party, O’Neal lives in fear that his treachery will be discovered even as he rises in the ranks. But as Hampton’s fiery message draws him in, O’Neal cannot escape the deadly trajectory of his ultimate betrayal.
Though his life was cut short, Fred Hampton’s impact has continued to reverberate.
Judas and the Black Messiah is directed by Shaka King, marking his studio feature film directorial debut.
The ensemble cast also includes Algee Smith (The Hate U Give, Detroit), Darrell Britt-Gibson (Just Mercy, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri), Dominique Thorne (If Beale Street Could Talk), Amari Cheatom (Roman J. Israel, Esq., Django Unchained), Caleb Eberhardt (“The Post”), and Lil Rel Howery (Get Out).
In theaters in 2021.
