Regina King is following up her Oscar-nominated feature directorial debut with a comic adaptation. Deadline reports that the “One Night in Miami” helmer has closed a deal with Legendary to direct and produce a feature adaptation of “Bitter Root,” an Image Comic series that takes place during the Harlem Renaissance of 1924.
“Bitter Root” sees a “fractured family of once-great monster hunters [facing] an unimaginable evil that descends upon New York City. For generations, the Sangeryes have hunted and cured those infected by a supernatural force that feeds off the prejudice of the era, transforming human beings into hideous monsters. With most of the family dead, and the surviving Sangeryes at odds between saving or killing the creatures, they must overcome the wounds of the past in the hopes of thwarting an invasion,” the source summarizes.
King took home an Emmy for her last comic-based project, HBO’s “Watchmen.” She won Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for the acclaimed adaptation of the influential graphic novel. King also scored an Emmy for “Seven Seconds” and two for “American Crime.” In 2019 she received an Oscar for her supporting turn in “If Beale Street Could Talk.”
“One Night in Miami” earned King a DGA Award nom for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in First-Time Feature Film. The drama about Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X, Sam Cooke, and Jim Brown received Oscar nods for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role (Leslie Odom Jr.), Best Adapted Screenplay (Kemp Powers), and Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures- Original Song (Odom Jr. and Sam Ashworth). “Insecure” and “Scandal” are among King’s TV directing credits.
Earlier this year King signed on to topline “Shirley,” a biopic of Shirley Chisholm that revisits the trailblazer’s historic 1972 presidential campaign. Chisholm was the first Black woman elected to Congress, the first person of color to pursue a major political party’s presidential nomination, and the first woman to seek the Democratic Party’s presidential nom. “Orange Is the New Black” alumna Uzo Aduba won an Emmy last year for her portrayal of Chisholm in FX’s “Mrs. America.”
