It looks like John Boyega and Jodie Turner-Smith will be adding to the Black British Invasion in Hollywood with their new project.
The two actors will be co-starring in an upcoming “IRA thriller” called Borderland, along with Jack Reynor (Midsommar) and Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything). The film will be produced by Chris Coen (Funny Games), Rebecca Brown, Piecrust Productions and Rocket Science.
Deadline provides the synopsis scoop:
The film will follow an Irish paramilitary, Michael (Reynor), who witnesses the shooting of his pregnant wife at the hands of an SAS sergeant named Tempest (Boyega) when a border ambush goes wrong. When Tempest is sent back to London to lead a covert counter-terrorist operation, Michael joins a ruthless active service unit (ASU) wreaking havoc in the capital. For Michael, the mission is personal – to hunt down Tempest – and he’ll stop at nothing to avenge his wife’s death.
“Borderland is a vengeance-fueled chase movie, fusing some pulse ticking action with a powerful message for our times,” co-writers Tom and Charles Guard said in a statement. “We’re thrilled that the script, driven as much by character as it is by plot, has attracted such a first-rate cast.”
Boyega tweeted about the news shortly after it was announced with an apt pair of “praise hand” emojis.
Earlier this month, Boyega confirmed that he was less concerned about any possible career risks or backlash that come from his activism efforts and more concerned about Black lives.
But with this news, it looks like Boyega definitely has at least one more promising project coming down the pipeline. We’re going to keep our eyes peeled to make sure this momentum continues for the actor because if we notice or suspect any dimming of his light, we’ll call it out! And that goes for Turner-Smith, too, who has also been very outspoken about racism and other social justice issues.
Borderland is expected to shoot in-location in the UK starting in early 2021.