Harriet Tubman Biopic in the Works

By Kenrya Rankin May 04, 2016

It seems Harriet Tubman is having a moment. Last month, we learned that the freedom fighter’s face will join that of literal dead president Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill. Now, Variety reports that there will soon be a feature-length movie about the icon.

The film project’s working title is “Harriet” and it will be helmed by Seith Mann, a Black director who has created episodes of dozens of buzzy television shows, including “Homeland,” “Ballers” and “The Wire.” Gregory Allen Howard (“Ali,” “Remember the Titans”)—who is also Black—is on board to write the script. Charles D. King (“The Land”), the first African American to work from the mailroom to partner at the William Morris Endeavor talent agency, will serve as a producer. Debra Martin Chase, the Black woman behind “The Cheetah Girls,” “The Preacher’s Wife” and “Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B,” will also produce.

Tubman was born a slave, but she escaped and went on to lead dozens of her people to freedom. She also served as a spy for the Union Army during the Civil War and was an outspoken advocate for women’s suffrage. Her story was the subject of a 1978 miniseries, “A Woman Called Moses,” that starred Cicely Tyson as Tubman. And Deadline reports that Viola Davis will star as Tubman in an upcoming HBO film based on the biography “Bound For The Promised Land.”

Production for “Harriet” is set to start in early 2017.