Ahead of his role as Fred Hampton in Judas and the Black Messiah, Daniel Kaluuya has booked a Netflix film that he’ll also produce.

The actor will topline an adaptation of Femi Fadugba’s upcoming sci-fi novel, The Upper World. As his debut novel and the first one in a planned series, it’ll be released in the UK in 2021 and the U.S. in early 2022. No word on the timeline for the film.

Here’s a description: Esso is caught in a deadly feud and on the verge of expulsion when he realizes he has an unexpected gift: access to a world where he can see glimpses of the past and the future. A generation away, Rhia is walking to football practice in 2035, unaware that the mysterious stranger she’s about to meet desperately needs her help to avert a bullet fired 15 years ago.

“You may not know his name, but once you’ve read ‘The Upper World’ you won’t be able to forget it,” said Tendo Nagenda, Vice President, Netflix Films, in a statement sent to press. “Films can impact and expand the way people see and experience life. ‘The Upper World’ will be one of those films. I’m neither from the place nor ‘time’ depicted in the pages of the debut novel. However, through staggeringly skilled storytelling, I was taken on a mind-and-heart altering adventure through the book’s characters and experiences.”

“I explain [Esso’s] powers using physics, meaning the audience gets to uncover new concepts alongside Esso, whose life literally depends on them,” added Fadugba. “With Netflix bringing the film adaptation to audiences around the world, I’m excited about the impact the story can have.”

The film is a part of the overall deal that Screen Arcade’s Eric Newman and Bryan Unkeless have at the streamer.

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Photo: Getty

The Upper World

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