Antoine Fuqua is set to direct an all-Black adaptation of Tennessee Williams’s Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, according to Variety. The Training Day and Magnificent Seven director will also produce the Pulitzer Prize–winning tale along with Stephen C. Byrd and Alia Jones-Harvey, the producers behind the 2008 Broadway revival starring an all–African American cast. The show made history with a sold-out 19-week run starring the very first cast of its kind, though it was snubbed at the Tonys that year. “Bringing such a historic production to the screen is an honor I am thrilled to have alongside Stephen and Alia,†said Fuqua in a statement. “They have shown their commitment to the project with two successful stagings on Broadway and the West End and know what it takes to translate this iconic drama from theatre to cinema.â€
Directed by the legendary Debbie Allen, the revival starred Anika Noni Rose as the irresistible Maggie the Cat; Iron Man–era Terrence Howard as Brick, her alcoholic husband; plus Hollywood icons James Earl Jones and Phylicia Rashad as Brick’s wealthy parents, the tyrannical Big Daddy and his long-suffering wife, Big Mama. Per a release, the film will “combine elements of the play with new story lines and weave them together to bring the production to the big screen.†“We set out to produce groundbreaking, high-caliber work on both Broadway and London’s West End with iconic plays, and now we hope to replicate this with Cat on a Hot Tin Roof as a film,†said Byrd and Jones-Harvey in a statement. â€We are thrilled to be able to bring this Tennessee Williams classic play to life once again in a new iteration with the acclaimed Antoine Fuqua at the helm.â€