Regina King Makes Feature Directorial Debut with Muhammad Ali Flick

Regina King is making her feature directorial debut with a movie centered around a young Muhammad Ali.

Off the heels of an Oscar win for her role in If Beale Street Could Talk, King is raring up to direct the forthcoming One Night in Miami, which will be adapted from Kemp Powers’ play of the same name.

Powers, also known for his work on Star Trek: Discovery and 2012’s comedy short This Day Today, is on board for the screen adaptation as well.

The film follows Muhammad Ali, a.k.a. Cassius Clay, on the night he becomes the World Heavyweight Boxing Champion on Feb. 25, 1964. Despite his win, Clay isn’t allowed to stay in Miami Beach to celebrate with his hordes of fans because of Jim Crow segregation laws. Instead, he opts for spending his night at the Hampton House Motel with Malcolm X, singer Sam Cooke and football player Jim Brown.

As the four iconic figures spend the night and morning together, they come out of Hampton House as changed men, ready to change the world.

No word yet on who will be playing these influential black men, but Twitter has some interesting suggestions.

I hope Chadwick Boseman plays Brown, Cooke, Clay and X. https://t.co/1d7kcP62D5
— Jazzmen (@jazzmen_k) July 10, 2019
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Although inspired by real life, the play is Powers’ fictionalized account and features music from Sam Cooke himself, including his classic “A Change Is Gonna Come.” And, for these four men, a change did surely come both for them and for the world they shaped.

Primarily an actress, King has also cemented her name as a director with TV episodes for Southland, The Catch, Scandal, Being Mary Jane and Greenleaf. But One Night in Miami is her directorial debut for the big screen.

You can also catch the three-time Emmy winner in the HBO adaptation series for the DC Comics favorite Watchmen.