According to Screen Daily, Narcos co-creator Chris Brancato is developing a prequel series to the Ridley Scott movie American Gangster entitled The Godfather of Harlem, which will take place five years before the film and see Forest Whitaker taking on the role of mob boss Ellsworth ‘Bumpy’ Johnson.
“It stars Forest Whitaker, he will play our lead character,” said Brancato. “It’s essentially the prequel to the movie American Gangster. It’s Harlem, the 1960s, a gangster named Bumpy Johnson was very close friends with Malcom X, so the show is about the collision of the criminal underworld and the civil rights movement. It’s an opportunity to examine some of the things that are going on racially right now, but through the prism of the past.”
Brancato, who left Narcos after its first season for the short-lived Of Kings and Prophets, went on to state that he has written the script, and is hoping to have Kendrick Lamar provide the music. He is also shopping it to potential destinations including Netflix, Amazon and Hulu.
The Ridley Scott-directed American Gangster saw Denzel Washington as Frank Lucas, the right hand man of Bumpy Johnson, who takes control of the Harlem crime scene following Johnson’s death. Also featuring in the cast were Russell Crowe, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Cuba Gooding Jr., Josh Brolin, Ted Levine, RZA, John Hawkes, John Ortiz, Armand Assante, Idris Elba, Carla Gugino and Common.
Originally published October 26, 2017. Updated April 18, 2018.
