Ernest Dickerson, who shot many of Spike Lee's best films such as Do The Right Thing and Malcolm X, is going to direct Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction) and Daveed Diggs (Blindspotting) in a hitman drama written by Gringo-fame Matthew Stone.
The project is yet to get a title. Deadline reports that Samuel Jackson will play "Morris Stokes, a recently retired and very opinionated hitman for mob boss Easy-A."
The official synopsis: “When his nephew Leslie (Diggs), is implicated in the theft of the mob’s earnings, Morris gets a call from his old boss that forces him off the golf course and back into action to negotiate one last job: he’s got the weekend to help the kid recover the stolen money or put a bullet in him. Complicating things is the fact that Leslie has a baby on the way."
Jackson's character is described as someone who “drags Leslie around town trying to clean up his mess, and pontificating on life’s lessons while dispensing some street justice. But Morris is more than a big talker. Get on his bad side and you’ll find out what trouble is. And when the mob goes back on their word, Morris is forced to remind them how he earned his reputation as the baddest mother**cker in the business.”
As a director, Dickerson has worked on films such as Juice (1992), Demon Knight (1995), Bulletproof (1996), Bones (2001) and Never Die Alone (2004). He has also directed some episodes for shows like The Wire, Dexter, The Walking Dead, and Godfather of Harlem.
Jackson's last starring role was in Netflix’s The Piano Lesson, directed by Denzel Washington's son Malcolm Washington.
Diggs, on the other hand, appeared in this year's critically acclaimed and Oscar-nominated Nickel Boys.