Chadwick Boseman will star as legendary attorney Thurgood Marshall in MARSHALL, a courtroom thriller directed by Oscar nominee Reginald Hudlin.
Marshall focuses on a provocative case in the early career of one of America’s greatest legal minds.
The screenplay for the film is a unique collaboration between renowned trial lawyer, Michael Koskoff, and his son, screenwriter Jacob Koskoff.
It is based on a true incident in the life of Thurgood Marshall, when he was a young lawyer, long before his appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court.
As the nation teeters on the brink of WWII, a nearly bankrupt NAACP sends Marshall to conservative Connecticut to defend a black chauffeur against his wealthy socialite employer in a sexual assault and attempted murder trial that quickly became tabloid fodder.
In need of a high profile victory but muzzled by a segregationist court, Marshall is partnered with Samuel Friedman, a young Jewish lawyer who has never tried a case. Marshall and Friedman struggle against a hostile storm of fear and prejudice, driven to discover the truth in the sensationalized trial which helped set the groundwork for the Civil Rights Movement to come.
“Thurgood Marshall was a man who took his life in his hands every time he came to a town to bring justice,” said Hudlin. “Marshall was a cowboy who used his law books as guns. He was the smartest guy in the room of any room he was in. But he wasn’t a punk and didn’t hesitate to throw a punch if the occasion called for it.
“It’s exciting to have Chadwick bring his extraordinary gifts to this remarkably relevant story,” added Hudlin.
“Chadwick Boseman is one of the most exciting young actors of his generation, and Reginald Hudlin is a multi-faceted and very talented artist. I’m privileged to be working with them in bringing an epic moment from Thurgood Marshall’s life to the screen,” said Wagner.
“We are also grateful to our Chinese partners at Super Hero Films who immediately recognized the power of this story and its ability to transcend cultural and national boundaries.”
Marshall begins production in Los Angeles this week before the holidays, then resumes late spring.
