Taraji P. Henson Set to Produce and Star in The Emmett Till Story

In a surprise announcement, Taraji P. Henson has revealed that she will be producing and starring in a film based on the murder of Emmett Till. The project will be helmed by celebrated director John Singleton (Snowfall, Boyz n the Hood).

Henson made the announcement in an interview with GlobalGrind, saying, “We don’t have a start date yet, but the deal definitely has been done. That’s one [film] that I’ve been passionate about since Trayvon Martin was murdered.”

Henson will portray Till’s mother, the late Mamie Till-Mobley, in the tentatively titled The Emmett Till Story. The collaboration between Henson and Singleton has been in the developmental rumor mill for some time. The project was first mentioned in a February 2017 Vanity Fair round-up of other Till-centric projects in the works.

With the huge success Henson has had over the past few years (Empire, Think Like a Man, Hidden Figures), the announcement of this project should stoke public interest as audiences prepare to see Henson’s latest project, Proud Mary.