This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the film being covered here wouldn’t exist.
Jeymes Samuel, the director behind 2021’s The Harder They Fall (and the filmmaker looking to make Mark Waid’s Irredeemable and Incorruptible comics into a Netflix feature), has a new movie coming out next year. This upcoming film, titled The Book of Clarence, centers on a man from biblical times (unsurprisingly named Clarence) who wants to become one of Jesus’ apostles, at least in part because it looks like a good gig.
Here’s the movie’s synopsis:
From visionary filmmaker Jeymes Samuel, The Book of Clarence is a bold new take on the timeless Biblical-era epic. Streetwise but down-on-his-luck, Clarence (LaKeith Stanfield) is struggling to find a better life for his family, while fighting to free himself of debt. Captivated by the power and glory of the rising Messiah and His apostles, he risks everything to carve his own path to a divine life, and ultimately discovers that the redemptive power of belief may be his only way out.
And while the film involves Jesus as the Messiah, Jay-Z—who is an executive producer and music contributor to the film—made it clear in an interview with Vanity Fair that this isn’t a faith-based movie. “This story is about a young man who finds his faith through love and through wanting to become somebody in the world, which is the story of everybody,” he said. “Everyone wants to find love and everyone wants to leave this place having accomplished something, having left their mark that they’ve been here and hopefully affected the world in a positive way.”
In addition to Stanfield, The Book of Clarence stars Omar Sy, RJ Cyler, Benedict Cumberbatch, James McAvoy, Anna Diop, David Oyelowo, Alfre Woodard, and Teyana Taylor.
The Book of Clarence comes out in theaters on January 12, 2024.
