It has been confirmed that Jaymes Samuel has found the stars who will lead his anticipated western sequel, The Book of Clarence. A Deadline report indicates that progress is being made towards the film, with actors like LaKeith Stanfield and Omar Sy joining the cast. With the film’s production picking up speed, they are expected to lead an ensemble that will fill out as production proceeds.
As a follow-up to the highly successful The Harder They Fall, which was also nominated for a BAFTA award, The Book of Clarence is Jaymes’s fresh take on the western genre, which stars Zazie Beetz, Jonathan Majors, Idris Elba, and Delroy Lindo, among others. As Nat Love (Majors) gathers up his gang of outlaws to hunt down his sworn enemy Rufus Buck (Elba) shortly after he is released from prison, the movie follows an all-Black principal cast playing roles based on historical figures from the Black western genre.
The fight for revenge results in the emergence of Buck’s fearsome posse of outlaws. A member of Buck’s gang killed by Love’s gang in the final battle is played by Stanfield as Cherokee Bill. This is a member of Buck’s crew who Love killed. There are few details available about the plot of The Book of Clarence.
These include whether it has anything to do with Jaymes’ western or who Stanfield and Sy will play in it. Stanfield will be playing a more substantial role this time around. This role will more closely reflect his status as a lead actor, based on the events that took place at the end of the last film. Besides being the film’s writer, director, producer, and composer, Samuel is also one of the producers alongside his previous collaborators, James Lassiter, Shawn Carter, and Tendo Nagenda. These collaborators all have experience working on films with him.
After appearances in Selma, Knives Out, and Get Out in recent years, Stanfield has cemented himself as a household name. However, he first made his mark on the movie scene in 2013’s Short Term 12. He has been a welcome presence on the big and small screens ever since. A highlight was his role as Darius in FX’s smash hit series Atlanta. This series caught the attention of the nation. Aside from Judas and the Black Messiah, another film for which he was nominated for an Academy Award, he has also appeared in Bojack Horseman, Uncut Gems, and Sorry to Bother You. There will be a new film in which he will be starring next year titled The Haunted Mansion.
Sy’s presence, on the other hand, has exploded in recent years, catapulted by the success of The Intouchables, released in 2011. The actor has since starred in several big-screen movies such as X-Men: Days of Future Past and Transformers: The Last Knight, in which he portrays Hot-Rod, one of the X-Men. The actor is also one of the mainstays of the Jurassic World franchise, most recently appearing in Dominion, which was released earlier this year. In addition to his work on the small screen, he has also been a regular guest actor on Netflix’s foreign language darling Lupin. This is expected to premiere Part 3 later this year. As a result of Joe Carnahan’s Shadow Force recently completing filming, Sy will be moving on to his next project.
