When Oscar producer Reginald Hudlin first laid eyes on the script for the highly anticipated biopic Marshall, based on Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, the first African American judge to serve on the nation’s highest court, he didn’t hesitate to join the project..
“I’ve always been a huge Thurgood Marshall fan,” he told PEOPLE of his decision to co-produce the film. “He is a man who made America fulfill its promise of being a great nation. He’s one of our country’s greatest heroes because he’s a fighter for justice – it’s an important story to tell.” He continued, “This script popped out to me because it wasn’t the story that we’ve heard before.”
For those playing catch up, the upcoming film focuses on an important case in SCJ Marshall’s early career. In the film, Marshall defends a Black chauffeur accused of sexual assault and attempted murder by his rich employer. Marshall teams up with an unlikely partner, a Jewish lawyer who’s never tried a case. Together, the dynamic duo fight for justice in a trial that would eventually lay the groundwork for the Civil Rights movement.
“Our country is going through a lot of transition. There is a lot of debate over American values,” he said.
“The suspect [in the film] is not a perfect citizen. He is a guy with a checkered past – but that doesn’t mean that you committed the crime. People today want to take shortcuts. But Thurgood Marshall worked his entire life to prove that there is no shortcut to justice,” Hudlin said of the film message’s being more relevant than ever in today’s society.
Taking on the role of the legendary Supreme Court Justice is none other than Captain America: Civil War star Chadwick Boseman, making this the third major historical figure he’s portrayed on the big screen. In 2013, Boseman played Jackie Robinson in the film 42. Soon after, in 2014, the 39-year-old played musical legend James Brown in Get on Up. And while fans will have to wait quite a while to see Boseman in action again, production begins next week in Los Angeles.
