John Boyega to Star in Kathryn Bigelow’s Detroit Riots Movie

“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” star John Boyega has joined the cast of Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal’s movie centering on the 1967 Detroit Riots, their untitled follow-up to “Zero Dark Thirty.”

Megan Ellison’s Annapurna Pictures is financing with Bigelow and Boal producing along with Ellison and Matthew Budman. Colin Wilson and Greg Shapiro will executive produce.

Details about the Detroit project remain scarce other though it’s known to be a crime drama set against the backdrop of Detroit’s devastating riots that took place over five haunting summer days in 1967. Although no studio is yet attached, producers are targeting a release in 2017, the 50th anniversary of the riots.

Boyega’s role in the film is unknown.

Though Boyega has been busy with “Star Wars,” which just wrapped production on the next installment, the U.K. actor also recently signed up to star in “Pacific Rim: Maelstrom” and will also appear in “The Circle” opposite Emma Watson and Tom Hanks.

He is repped by WME and Identity Agency Group in the UK.

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