So what will Lupita Nyong’o do next? What will she do next? What? What? WHAAAAAT? Tell us!
A question that’s been at the center of numerous articles and debates (on and offline) since she won the Oscar earlier this year.
The celebrated actress just might be joining Forest Whitaker and Jake Gyllenhaal in Antoine Fuqua’s boxing drama Southpaw.
The Weinstein Company project, penned by Eminem (who was originally set to star in the movie, before being replaced by Gyllenhaal) and Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter, will tell the story of a left-handed welterweight boxer who becomes a champion, before experiencing tragedy that negatively-affects the life of his young daughter, and who later finds the determination to make a comeback.
Whitaker will play a character named Titus ‘Tick’ Willis, a former fighter forced to retire after losing an eye. His plans to return to the sport, but as a trainer, are derailed after his son is killed.
Rachel McAdams will play the female lead (likely Gyllenhaal’s love interest).
And, assuming she does join the cast, Nyong’o, who is being courted by the film’s producers, will play a social worker whose job is to ensure the fighter’s daughter’s healthy well-being.
Yay – another film about a distressed white fighter making a comeback.
Production is eyed for this summer.
Ms Nyong’o most recently joined Idris Elba in what is being envisioned as a live-action/CG hybrid movie adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book, which is currently set up at Disney, with Jon Favreau directing.
Nyong’o will provide the voice for Rakcha, a mother wolf who adopts Mowgli, the story’s main protagonist.
