A Fred Hampton biopic had been in the works for several years, with the Lucas brothers and Will Berson writing and shopping screenplays individually since 2014. Berson's version almost got made withF. Gary Gray directing, but King was hired to direct when that fell through. The cast joined in 2019, with the blessings of Hampton's family, with filming beginning that fall in Ohio.
Judas and the Black Messiah premiered at the2021 Sundance Film Festival on February 1, 2021, and was released in the United States byWarner Bros. Pictures on February 12, simultaneously in theaters and digitally onHBO Max. Released amid theCOVID-19 pandemic, the film grossed $7 million worldwide against a budget of $26 million. The film was acclaimed by critics, who praised King's direction, the cinematography, the screenplay, the performances (particularly Kaluuya, Stanfield, and Fishback), and its timely themes. The film earned six Oscar nominations at the93rd Academy Awards, includingBest Picture andBest Supporting Actor for Stanfield, winning Best Supporting Actor (Kaluuya) andBest Original Song ("Fight for You"). For his performance, Kaluuya also won Best Supporting Actor at theGolden Globes,Critics' Choice Awards,Screen Actors Guild Awards, andBAFTA Awards. Since its release,Judas and the Black Messiah has been cited as one of the best films of the 2020s.[4]
In 1968, 19-year-old petty criminalWilliam O'Neal is arrested in Chicago after attempting to steal a car by posing as a federal officer. He is approached by FBI Special Agent Roy Mitchell, who offers to have O'Neal's charges dropped if he works undercover for the Bureau. O'Neal is assigned to infiltrate the Illinois chapter of theBlack Panther Party (BPP) and obtain information on its leader,Fred Hampton.
O'Neal begins to grow close to Hampton, who works to form alliances with rivalgangs and militia bands while extending community outreach through the BPP'sFree Breakfast for Children Program. Hampton's persuasive oratory eventually helps to form the multiracialRainbow Coalition along with theYoung Lords andYoung Patriots Organization. Hampton also falls in love withDeborah Johnson, a fellow BPP member. O'Neal begins to relay intelligence to Mitchell, who in return pays him.
After Hampton is imprisoned for allegedly stealing $71 worth of ice cream bars, O'Neal begins to rise through the ranks and is promoted to security captain. When a shootout between theChicago Police and the BPP occurs at the chapter office, O'Neal sneaks out as the police firebomb the office. Outraged that he could have been killed, O'Neal attempts to quit being an informant, but Mitchell refuses, threatening him with the original charges.
Three months later, Hampton is released from prison whileappealing his charges and reunites with Deborah, now pregnant with his child. BPP member Jimmy Palmer, who was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries after being shot by a police officer, dies unexpectedly while being transferred to another hospital. Assuming police have murdered Jimmy, fellow member Jake Winters engages in a shootout with police, killing several officers before being gunned down himself.
After Hampton's appeal is rejected, FBI DirectorJ. Edgar Hoover orders that he be "neutralized" rather than allowing him to return toprison. Mitchell coerces O'Neal into helping with the plan by warning him that the BPP will turn on him if they find out he's an informant, and O'Neal reluctantly agrees to help. O'Neal is later handed a vial of sedatives and ordered to drug Hampton's drink with it by another undercover FBI collaborator, who hands O'Neal his old fake FBI badge to prove his credentials. The following evening, BPP members gather at Hampton's apartment before he must depart for prison. An allied gang leader offers Hampton money to flee the country, but he turns it down and instead orders that a clinic be established with the money in Jake's memory. During the evening, O'Neal reluctantly drugs Hampton's drink and departs soon after. Hours later, officers and agents raid the apartment and assassinate Hampton after shooting or injuring the other Black Panthers, while Deborah is arrested. Later, O'Neal meets with Mitchell, who gives him money and a pair of keys to a gas station which is being given to him. O'Neal attempts to quit again but reluctantly accepts the money and keys and puts them in his pocket.
Archive footage is shown of Hampton's speeches, including his funeral procession, and an interview O'Neal gave in 1989.[5] The title cards state that O'Neal continued to work as an informant within the BPP before taking his own life in 1990. Alawsuit was filed against the FBI in 1970 and 12 years later was settled for $1.85 million. As of the film's release,Fred Hampton Jr. and his mother serve as chairman and board member of the Black Panther Party Cubs.
In addition, Nicholas Velez portraysJosé Cha Cha Jiménez, founder of theYoung Lords group, while Terayle Hill plays Black Panthers chairmanGeorge Sams, who is depicted as an FBI informant.
Kenny and Keith Lucas began pitching the idea of aFred Hampton biopic toA24 andNetflix in 2014, selling it as "The Conformist meetsThe Departed." While working with Shaka King on a television pilot in 2016, they pitched their idea for a Hampton film, and he became intrigued. Will Berson had also written a Hampton screenplay about the same time and it was in early stages of production, withF. Gary Gray in talks to direct,Casey Affleck andJohn Powers Middleton in negotiations to produce, andJaden Smith andO'Shea Jackson Jr. being eyed to portray Hampton. After that version fell through, Berson and King rewrote his script with help from the Lucas brothers.[1]
The brothers got in touch with Macro's Charles King, who agreed to finance half of the project.[7]
By going to market with a great script, two amazing actors and Shaka, a visionary filmmaker, and the clout that Ryan Coogler brought, plus Macro bringing half of the financing to the table with a great production plan. That put us in a position to be partners, so this movie is not purely driven by the studio. That also helped us support Shaka's vision and how he cast the movie and to keep it as authentic as possible.[7]
Principal photography began inCleveland, Ohio on October 21, 2019.[12] On November 25 and 26, 2019, filming took place at theOhio State Reformatory inMansfield.[13] After 42 days, production concluded on December 19, 2019.[14] Originally announced asJesus Was My Homeboy,[8] the film was later reported as being titledJudas and the Black Messiah[12] before being described as untitled.[11][13] Kristan Sprague began editing the film in January 2020, prior to dozens of studios being shut down due to theCOVID-19 pandemic in New York, which later resulted in crew members working remotely during post-production.[15] In July 2020, the film's title was confirmed to beJudas and the Black Messiah.[16]
Judas and the Black Messiah had its world premiere at the2021 Sundance Film Festival on February 1, 2021, at both virtual and in-person screenings.[25] The film was released on February 12, 2021, in the United States, byWarner Bros. Pictures.[26] The film was originally scheduled to be released on August 21, 2020,[27] but because of theCOVID-19 pandemic, it was postponed to 2021.[28][29]
As part of its plans for all of its 2021 films, Warner Bros. Pictures also streamed the film simultaneously on theHBO Max service for a period of one month, after which the film played exclusively in theatres until the start of the normal home media release schedule period.[30]Samba TV reported that 653,000 households streamed the film over its opening weekend.[31] By the end of its first month, the film had been watched in over 1.4 million U.S. households.[32] The film was re-added to HBO Max on July 1, 2021.[33]
Judas and the Black Messiah grossed $5.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $2 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $7.5 million.[3][2]
Compared toLand with limited expansion ofWilly's Wonderland andThe Mauritanian,Judas and the Black Messiah made $2.5 million from 1,888 theaters over itsfour-day opening weekend, finishing second at the box office behind holdoverThe Croods: A New Age.[34] About 61% of the audience was African-American and 21% Caucasian, while male/female split evenly and 75% were above the age of 25.[35] In its second weekend the film finished third, dropping 55% to $905,000, then made $500,000 in its third weekend.[36][37] The weekend following its six Oscar nominations, the film made $250,000 from 951 theaters, for a domestic running total of $5 million.[38]
Review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes reports that 96% of 358 critic reviews were positive, with an average rating of 8.2/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "An electrifying dramatization of historical events,Judas and the Black Messiah is a forceful condemnation of racial injustice – and a major triumph for its director and stars."[39] According toMetacritic, which assigned aweighted average score of 84 out of 100 based on 49 critics, the film received "universal acclaim".[40] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while 87% of filmgoers atPostTrak gave it a positive score (with an average 4.5 out of 5 stars) and 74% saying they would definitely recommend it.[35]
Writing forVariety, Peter Debruge praised Stanfield's performance and said, "The powerful film puts the current moment into fresh historical context and suggests that ambivalence can be its own form of betrayal."[41] David Rooney ofThe Hollywood Reporter wrote: "Led by sensational performances from Daniel Kaluuya as Hampton and LaKeith Stanfield as William O'Neal, the FBI informant who infiltrated his inner circle, this is a scalding account of oppression and revolution, coercion and betrayal, rendered more shocking by the undiminished currency of its themes."[42]
Pete Hammond fromDeadline Hollywood and Karen Han fromSlate both compared various themes in the film to those found inThe Trial of the Chicago 7 (released the year before), with Hammond saying that "King skillfully lays out each side of the equation in this raw and exciting account set in 1968".[43][44]Michael Phillips of theChicago Tribune gave the film 3.5 out of 4 stars and called the film "a leap and a bound ahead of the recent Netflix productionTrial of the Chicago 7" and called it "brash, narratively risky, full of life and sneaky wit (even if the dominant tone is one of foreboding) and brimming with terrific actors."[45]
In 2023, it ranked number 14 onCollider's list of "The 20 Best Drama Movies of the 2020s So Far," saying that "Director Shaka King was able to encapsulate Hampton's accomplishments by creating an engaging crime thriller with no ambiguities about its relevance. Within each scene of the FBI hunting down Hampton and initiating his assassination, it's evident why the conversations about black identity he initiated are still so important."[4]
Former Black Panther Party memberEddie Conway found the portrayal of Hampton in the film inaccurate, noting that he was an outwardly warmhearted person, and not a cold, hardened individual as the film depicts.[46] Other leftists criticized the film for neglecting to shed much light on Hampton's politics. Adrienne Weller wrote: "Centering on the betrayer is a worn out trope in films dealing with martyred challengers to the capitalist system."[47]
Despite being campaigned for leading actor nominations, bothLaKeith Stanfield andDaniel Kaluuya were nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Both of the film's primary actors appearing in the supporting category proved unexpected and confusing to the public and awards pundits. Kyle Buchanan of theNew York Times jokingly questioned, "If Stanfield and Kaluuya are both supporting actors, then who exactly is this movie supposed to be about?"[48]
^abLittleton, Cynthia (February 10, 2021)."How 'Judas and the Black Messiah' Reflects Charles D. King's Macro Vision". Yahoo! News. RetrievedFebruary 22, 2021.If Macro and partners hadn't put up half of the financing for "Judas," about the murder of Black Panther Party chairman Fred Hampton at the hands of the FBI, the movie would not have been made with a first-time studio director Shaka King, and stars Daniel Kaluuya and LaKeith Stanfield.
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