Eight months after it was announced that Colman Domingo would take on the role of an often forgotten civil rights icon in Rustin, Netflix has released a first-look image teasing Domingo’s portrayal of an iconic figure in history. The film, which hails from five-time Tony-winning director George C. Wolfe, is the first feature film from Barack and Michelle Obama‘s Higher Ground and is slated for release at some point in 2023.
Rustin centers on the woefully underappreciated Bayard Rustin, the mastermind behind the 1963 March on Washington whose actions changed the course of civil rights in America. A close advisor to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., he was deeply involved in the push for worldwide democracy and equal rights but was ultimately shunned in the history books due to his status as a gay Black man.
He frequently preached non-violence, becoming so well known for his commitment that King Jr. wrote of Rustin, “We are thoroughly committed to the method of nonviolence in our struggle, and we are convinced that Bayard’s expertness and commitment in this area will be of inestimable value.” Later in his life, he’d turn his attention to the LGBTQ+ community and bring awareness of their plight to the NAACP before passing away in 1987. The image offers a look at Netflix’s recreation of an iconic moment in the life of Bayard Rustin.
Since it was first announced, the cast of Rustin has grown considerably. Joining Domingo are Chris Rock, who plays former NAACP director Roy Wilkins, Audra McDonald who appears as activist Ella Baker, and Glynn Turman, who slots in as politician A. Philip Randolph. Rounding out the group are Aml Ameen, Gus Halper, Johnny Ramey, CCH Pounder, Michael Potts, Carra Patterson, Adrienne Warren, Bill Irwin, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Jeffrey Wright, Lilli Kay, Jordan-Amanda Hall, Jakeem Dante Powell, Ayana Workman, Grantham Coleman, Jamilah Nadege Rosemond, Jules Latimer, Maxwell Whittington-Cooper, Frank Harts, and Kevin Mambo.
It’s especially fitting that Higher Ground is at the helm for Rustin given that President Obama posthumously awarded the civil rights mastermind with the Presidential Medal of Freedom back in 2013. The Obamas are joined on the project by fellow executive producers Mark R. Wright and Alex G. Scott from Higher Ground as well as Bruce Cohen and Higher Ground’s Tonia Davis. Much of the production team, as well as Domingo and Turman, were brought over from Wolfe’s previous directorial effort Ma Rainey‘s Black Bottom.
Higher Ground has been hard at work creating thoughtful, diverse media after starting off with the feature documentary American Factory in 2019. Their last feature, the Sundance darling documentary Descendant, saw them collaborate with Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson and Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter‘s Two One Five Entertainment to tell the story of the small Alabama community called Africatown. It was acquired by Netflix earlier this year following its successful festival run.
Rustin releases in 2023.