Method Man lines up roles in Waldo and Concrete Cowboys
After seeing an increase in key acting roles with the hit comedies Trainwreck, Keanu and the HBO drama The Deuce, Method Man has lined up two more roles including the upcoming action-thriller Waldo alongside Mel Gibson (Blood Father) and the drama Concrete Cowboys alongside Idris Elba (Hobbs & Shaw), according to Deadline.
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Waldo is based on Howard Gould’s novel Last Looks, and will be directed by Brit filmmaker Tim Kirby, who is best known for directing episodes of Veep and the pilot for Fleabag, and will also star Eiza Gonzalez (Baby Driver), Clancy Brown (The Shawshank Redemption), Rupert Friend (Homeland), Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy) and Dominic Monaghan (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker).
Waldo introduces a new hero in disgraced former LAPD detective Charlie Waldo (Hunnam), currently living the life of a minimalist in the woods. His quiet life comes to a startling halt when he is roped back into working as a private eye to investigate the murder of an eccentric TV star’s wife. Method is set to portray a rapper being investigated by Hunnam’s Waldo. Filming is set to commence in the first quarter of 2019.
The project is one of many currently on Gibson’s schedule. Earlier this year news broke that he would star alongside Annabelle Wallis (The Mummy) and Frank Grillo (Captain America: The Winter Soldier) in the action-thriller Boss Level; in August the actor committed to the World War II revenge thriller War Pigs with Colin Farrell; and in August he signed on to co-write and direct a remake of The Wild Bunch. Gibson is also developing a Passion of the Christ sequel with Jim Caviezel, and was prepping the WWII drama Destroyer before taking on Wild Bunch.
Concrete Cowboys is inspired by the real-life Fletcher Street Stables, a black urban horsemanship community which has existed in Philadelphia for more than 100 years providing safe haven for the neighborhood. The film’s plot centers on 15-year old Cole (Caleb McLaughlin, Stranger Things) who moves in with his estranged father Harp (Elba) in Philadelphia, where he is introduced to the vibrant urban cowboy subculture in the city, which flourishes despite the surrounding poverty, violence, and encroachment of gentrification.
Method has signed on to star as Leroy, a lifelong friend of Harp’s who grew up on Fletcher Street and now works as a mounted officer for the Philadelphia police department.
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Staub wrote the screenplay, based in part by the novel Ghetto Cowboy by Greg Neri; and will make his directorial debut on the pic.
The film also stars Emmy-nominated Jharrel Jerome (When They See Us), Lorraine Toussaint (The Village), and Byron Bowers (The Chi).
Tucker Tooley Entertainment will finance the production, with Lee Daniels Entertainment, Tucker Tooley Entertainment and Elba’s Green Door Pictures serving as producers. Elba will also produce alongside Daniels, Tooley, Walser, Waxylu Films’ Jennifer Madelof and Jeff Waman. Greg Renker, Jason Barhydt, Sam Mercer, Tegan Jones, Staci Hagenbaugh and Neri will serve as executive producers.
Elba can currently be seen in the box office hit Hobbs & Shaw alongside Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham. You can see McLaughlin in Stranger Things 3 currently streaming on Netflix.
(Photo Credit: Backgrid Images)