Well, that was fast!

Earlier today it was confirmed that HBO has ordered a pilot episode for the new series, which Spike Lee will direct, from a script penned by John Ridley, created by Doug Ellin (Entourage) and Mike Tyson, both also wearing producer hats, along with the aforementioned Spike.

The drama series project will be titled Da Brick, and is described as “a contemporary exploration of what it means to be a young, black man in supposedly post-racial America.”

Hours later, the series’ starring cast has been announced. I’m in a rush, so I’ll just get right to it and save the commentary for later…

Courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter.

The premium network has cast Attack the Block star John Boyega to play the project’s titular character. Boyega will play Donnie, who, after his release from juvenlie detention on his 18th birthday begins an exploration of what it means to be a man for himself and those around him.

Milauna Jemai (NCIS) will play Lynette, Donnie’s mother, with him he reconnects with following a 14-month separation.

Julito McCullum (The Wire) will play Kevin, Donnie’s best friend and the one person he can’t leave behind, no matter how much he may want to.

Kamahl Naiqui Palmer (Gossip Girl) is set as Malik, the moral center of Donnie’s tight group of friends who is looking for direction between his middle-class upbringing and the harder realities of his environment.

So, there ya go… I’ll share my thoughts in a future post.

As already noted, Da Brick is said to be “loosely inspired” by Mike Tyson’s youth, and will be set in present-day Newark, NJ (aka “brick city,” for those in da know; hence, Da Brick).

This will mark Boyega’s first stateside-produced project. Good for him!