The film-maker and actor Regina King has set her next project as director: an adaptation of the Bitter Root comics series! As reported by EW: King recently helmed her directing debut, One Night In Miami for Amazon Studios. She received plaudits for her portrayal of Angela Abar in HBO’s Watchmen sequel TV series. Last week, she announced her next directorial project. Bitter Root will adapt the Image Comics series written by David F. Walker and Chuck Brown, with art by Sanford Greene.
The comics, set in the 1920s, tell the story of the Sangerye family of Harlem, who hunt monsters during the Renaissance. The family use a combination of fighting talent and science to battle the creatures know as Jinoo. In an excellent twist, the creatures are born of prejudice - when other characters in the series exhibit racism, they become Jinoo! And only the Sangerye’s can stop them, halting the spread of their prejudice.
One of the characters even has ties to King’s role in Watchmen as they’re transformed by the massacre in Tulsa, 1921 - an event that is central to the Watchmen series. King has stated in past interviews that is was the show’s creator, Damon Lindleof’s treatment of this event that made her take the role of Angela Abar is the series. It was this role that won King an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie as well as an EW award for ‘Entertainer of the Year’ in 2019.
Co-writer of Bitter Root also has another of his characters making their way to the screen - Naomi, the teen super-heroine he created for DC Comics will feature on a CW series, spearheaded by Ava DuVernay soon. We’ll have more on Bitter Root as it develops.