Spike Lee has signed on with Legendary Pictures to direct “Prince of Cats,” based on a graphic novel by Ron Wimberly that transports “Romeo & Juliet” to a 1980s hip-hop setting.
Set in Brooklyn, the violent feud between the Capulets and Montagues is waged with katanas and amid graffiti-stained walls. Along with the backdrop, “Prince of Cats” also changes the story’s focus from the two doomed lovers to Tybalt, Juliet’s rage-fueled cousin who leads the Capulets in their battles and whose bloodthirst leads to his demise.
Lee will rewrite the script with Wimberly and original screenwriter Selwyn Seyfu Hinds. Janet and Kate Zucker of Zucker Productions will produce the film with Legendary’s Jon Silk and Ali Mendes overseeing the project.
Lee won his first Oscar this year for Best Adapted Screenplay for “BlacKkKlansman,” which was also nominated for Best Picture. In addition to “Prince of Cats,” his future slate includes the Netflix war drama “Da 5 Bloods,” which stars Chadwick Boseman, Paul Walter Hauser, and Jonathan Majors and filmed in Vietnam earlier this year.
Lee is repped by ICM Partners, and the signing was first reported by THR.
Every Black Director Nominated for an Oscar, From John Singleton to Spike Lee (Photos)
In 2019, Spike Lee became only the sixth Black director to receive an Oscar nomination in the Academy's history for his work on "BlackKklansman." But so far, no Black filmmaker has won in that category.
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John Singleton, "Boyz N the Hood" (1991) • Two years after Spike Lee was passed over for a nomination for "Do the Right Thing," John Singleton became the first African American to earn a Best Director nomination for his star-studded drama set in South Central L.A. That year, Jonathan Demme won the award for "The Silence of the Lambs."
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Lee Daniels, "Precious" (2009) • Eighteen years passed before a second African American filmmaker was recognized: Lee Daniels, for his gritty portrait of a young woman seeking to overcome a childhood of poverty and abuse. In another Oscar first, Kathryn Bigelow became the first female director to win the Oscar, for "The Hurt Locker."
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Steve McQueen, "12 Years a Slave" (2013) • British director Steve McQueen gritty drama about American slavery picked up nine nominations, including one for his directing. While the film won Best Picture (and McQueen earned a statuette as a producer), he lost the directing prize to "Gravity" filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón.
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Barry Jenkins, "Moonlight" (2016) • Jenkins' underdog indie pulled off a major upset, beating front-runner "La La Land" for Best Picture. But Damien Chazelle claimed the directing prize for the modern-day musical. (Jenkins did take home the statuette for Best Adapted Screenplay.)
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Jordan Peele, "Get Out" (2017) • Peele became the latest actor-turned-filmmaker to earn a Best Director nod, for his feature filmmaking debut. Peele won an Oscar for his original screenplay but Guillermo del Toro won Best Director for "The Shape of Water."
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Spike Lee, "BlackKklansman" (2018) • Despite wide acclaim for such films as 1989's "Do the Right Thing" and 1992's "Malcolm X," the pioneering filmmaker earned his first nomination decades into his career for this fact-based tale of a Black undercover cop who infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan. Lee shared the Adapted Screenplay Oscar for the film, but Alfonso Cuarón took home Best Director for "Roma."
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Will Regina King join the club this year for her work on ”One Night in Miami“?
In 2019, Spike Lee became only the sixth Black director to receive an Oscar nomination in the Academy's history for his work on "BlackKklansman." But so far, no Black filmmaker has won in that category.
Getty Images
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