Here’s Everything We Know About Chiwetel Ejiofor’s Next Directorial Project

For his directorial debut, Chiwetel Ejiofor knocked it out of the park with the uplifting and inspiring biographical drama, The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind.

That explains why he’s already been tapped to adapt and direct the adaptation of another incredible biographic novel, The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace: A Brilliant Young Man Who Left Newark for the Ivy League, the bestselling book by Jeff Hobbs.

(Photo: Amazon)

The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace tells the true story of a brilliant black man, Robert Peace, who, while growing up outside of Newark, New Jersey, dreamed of making his single mother proud by escaping his crime-ridden city. He defied the odds and went to Yale on a full scholarship.

He was captain of the water polo team and graduated with honors in Molecular Biochemistry and Biophysics. All this promise and potential was dashed when he was gunned down at age 30 by rival drug dealers just blocks from where he grew up. The book tells the story of his tragic murder.

Speaking to Deadline about bringing the movie to life, Chiwetel said:

“I’m deeply honored to bring Robert Peace’s painful and profound story to the screen.

A story that reminds us that the social mobility at the heart of the American Dream remains, for many, as stubbornly elusive now as it ever was.”

While no actors have been cast, the movie is set to be produced by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day), Rebecca Hobbs (The Ugly), Andrea Calderwood (The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind, Half of A Yellow Sun) and Kat Samick (The Equalizer). No official release date has been announced.