See What Black Entertainment News Has To Offer This Week

Image for article titled Role Call: On Your Left! Anthony Mackie Will Star in Capitan America 4 and Apparently the Fourth Season of Dear White People is a Musical — Screenshot: YouTube, YouTube

While it doesn’t seem like we’re getting a second season of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (TFATWS) anytime soon, it looks as though we’re getting something even better. Anthony Mackie officially closed a deal with Marvel/Disney to star in Capitan America 4, according to Deadline.

Now, I know what you’re thinking, what does this mean for our highly traumatized, comedic relief of a supersoldier? Well, nothing has been announced yet as to whether or not Sebastian Stan will be reprising his role, but we can only hope.

The last episode of TFATWS left viewers wondering what the fate of the true new Cap would be. This will be the first time Mackie has headlined a movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He has played Sam Wilson/Falcon in six other films (Capitan America and the Winter Soldier, Capitan America Civil War, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame). This new role is a huge step in the trajectory of MCU’s Phase 5 and how they plan to roll it out.

Because, you know, the “next Thanos-level threat” the MCU dropped on us in the season finale of Loki per an article from The Root.

Vanity Fair reports the film will be written by TFATWS head writer/creator Malcolm Spellman and that no official cast or director has been announced.

It’s time for someone new to officially take up the shield, and Mackie’s Sam Wilson/The Falcon is clearly the man for the job.

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Dear White People Season 4 Is Here…And It’s A Musical?

If for whatever reason the title still has you unclear, Netflix recently dropped the trailer for the fourth and final season of Dear White People. According to a press release sent to The Root, this upcoming season will see the central cast, which consists of Logan Browning, Brandon P. Bell, Antoinette Robertson, DeRon Horton, John Patrick Amedori, Ashley Blaine Featherson and Marque Richardson, as they take on their senior year at Winchester in the “not-so-distant, post-pandemic future and look back at the most formative (and theatrical) year of their lives. Both an Afro-futuristic and 90s-inspired musical event,the farewell season is “an experience with one pitch-perfect promise: sometimes the only way to move forward is to throw it back.” I don’t know about you, but seeing as how this show was one of the very first series I binge-watched at the beginning of quarantine, I am both minimally intrigued and highly confused at this twist of an ending. There was so much meat to season three and I just don’t see how they’re going to wrap it all up in this format. Peep the trailer below and see for yourself, I guess I’ll be warming up my jazz hands in preparation for when the season drops on September 22.

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Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance Announce New Docuseries One Thousand Years of Slavery

Powerhouse couple Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance’s production company Bassett Vance Productions has teamed up with MTV Entertainment Studios for a new docuseries exploring the legacy of slavery. Per a press release sent to The Root, the four-part series titled One Thousand Years of Slavery, will highlight “powerful stories of notable individuals courageously sharing their deeply personal Black experiences. It’s the 1,000-year story of how slavery stained the past, shaped the present, and continues to re-write our future. Through preserved historical documentation and insight from studied experts, every story unfolds to chronicle how slavery frames the present and continues to act as a distinct force on the future. It’s a dialogue of reflection, oppression, and progression, offering diverse perspectives proving that this challenging yet imperative global conversation will continue for decades to come.” One Thousand Years of Slavery is set to air on the Smithsonian Channel, you can view the first-look trailer below.

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Morgan Freeman to Host and Executive Produce Great Escapes With Morgan Freeman on The History Channel

Morgan Freeman attends the premiere of Focus Features’ ‘London Has Fallen’ at ArcLight Cinemas Cinerama Dome on March 1, 2016 in Hollywood, California.

The voice of God aka Morgan Freeman has been tapped to host and executive produce a new nonfiction series for The History Channel. Per a press release sent to The Root, the eight, hourlong series titled Great Escaped With Morgan Freeman will take an in-depth look at history’s greatest escapes from some of the most notorious prisons around the world. “Famous jailbreaks are the stuff of legend as their true stories are often untold. Now, with dramatic recreations, dynamic storytelling and cutting-edge visual effects, escapes from infamous prisons like Alcatraz will come to life in graphic detail. Each episode will unearth every step of an inmate’s meticulous plan, the escape route and the intense manhunt that immediately followed.” Great Escapes will premiere Tuesday, November 9 at 10p.m. ET.

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Frankie Smith to Join BET+ Legal Thriller, Sacrifice

Frankie Smith attends the “Black and Blue” New York Screening at Regal E-Walk on October 21, 2019 in New York City

BET+’s upcoming legal thriller, Sacrifice, just gained a new cast member. The BET+ original movie was picked up into a series in September 2020. The movie—and subsequent show—follow Danielle Hernandez, played by Paula Patton, a successful entertainment lawyer as she deals with the shady lives of her rich clients. Frankie Smith (Mudbound) will be portraying Chauncy Winchester, a tech-savvy Gen-Z from Wharton Business School. Smith’s character has the “music know-how of a 20-year old industry veteran,” according to Deadline. The series is diving deeper into Daniella’s (Patton) personal life and “takes an in-depth look at the entertainment business in a way that no television show ever has, by capturing the glamorous yet mysterious sides of the music industry from the perspective of an entertainment attorney” according to Chris Stokes, Chairman, Footage Films. Scarface is slated to premiere on BET+ later this year.

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Courtney B. Vance and Aunjanue Ellis Star in New Crime Drama 61st Street

Speaking of Courtney B. Vance, it looks like he’ll be staying booked and busy for a while. Deadline reports that he, alongside his former Lovecraft Country co-star Aunjanue Ellis, will be starring in an upcoming AMC drama series, 61st Street. Executive produced by Michael B. Jordan, the two-season television series will tell the story of “Moses Johnson, a promising black high school athlete who is swept up into the infamously corrupt Chicago criminal justice system. Taken by the police as a supposed gang member, he finds himself in the eye of the storm as cops and prosecutors seek revenge for the death of an officer during a drug bust gone wrong.” Vance will portray “Franklin Roberts, a public defender in the twilight of his career who serves the busiest courthouse in America,” while Ellis will play his wife, Marta Roberts, “a candidate for alderman on the South Side who is very skilled at telling the voting public that her drive and ambition will be placed at their service.” Production is set to begin in Chicago with an expected premiere date some time in 2022.

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Blood Brothers: Netflix Releases Trailer for Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali Documentary

Blood Brothers: Malcolm X & Muhammad Ali delves into the three-year-long friendship between them and the triumphs—and struggles—they faced. The film is produced by Grownish creator, Kenya Barris and includes interviews with Ali’s younger brother Rahman Ali, Malcolm X’s daughter Ilyasah Shabazz and features never-before-seen footage of the two together with their families. Ali and Malcolm X bonded over their understanding of the struggles surrounding being a Black figurehead yet also disagreed on the right way to run the leadership of the Nation of Islam The Hollywood Reporter. The intertwining story of two of the most influential figures in Black history is coming to Netflix on September 9.

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Wyatt Cenac Slated to Develop Animation Series With Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network Studios

Wyatt Cenac attends “The Dead Don’t Die” New York Premiere at Museum of Modern Art on June 10, 2019 in New York City.

Wyatt Cenac, Daily Show alum and comedian, has just penned an overall, cross-studio deal with Warner Bros. Animation (WBA) and Cartoon Network Studios (CNS). Cenac had already had a deal with WarnerMedia through his work on the HBO docuseries Problem Areas, and this new deal extends their relationship. Circling back to 2002, Cenac’s deal puts him back in a producer position which is where he got his start with Fox’s animated series King of the Hill. The WBA and CNS deal spans across a range of ages from pre-school to adult and is the second overall deal alongside Looney Tunes. With this deal, Cenac is set to produce and develop animated programming for both studios according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Role Call: On Your Left! Anthony Mackie Will Star in Capitan America 4 and Apparently the Fourth Season of Dear White People is a Musical

Courtney B. Vance locks down two projects, a docuseries with Angela Bassett; co-stars in 61st Street with Aunjanue Ellis; Frankie Smith joins BET+’s Sacrifice

Dear White People Season 4 Is Here…And It’s A Musical?

Dear White People Season 4 Is Here…And It’s A Musical?

Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance Announce New Docuseries One Thousand Years of Slavery

Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance Announce New Docuseries One Thousand Years of Slavery

Morgan Freeman to Host and Executive Produce Great Escapes With Morgan Freeman on The History Channel

Morgan Freeman to Host and Executive Produce Great Escapes With Morgan Freeman on The History Channel

Frankie Smith to Join BET+ Legal Thriller, Sacrifice

Frankie Smith to Join BET+ Legal Thriller, Sacrifice

Courtney B. Vance and Aunjanue Ellis Star in New Crime Drama 61st Street

Courtney B. Vance and Aunjanue Ellis Star in New Crime Drama 61st Street

Blood Brothers: Netflix Releases Trailer for Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali Documentary

Blood Brothers: Netflix Releases Trailer for Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali Documentary

Wyatt Cenac Slated to Develop Animation Series With Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network Studios

Wyatt Cenac Slated to Develop Animation Series With Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network Studios