Yahoo Finance Regina King to Direct Bitter Root in Film Adaptation of the Harlem Renaissance Comic Book
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After her Emmy-winning performance in HBO's Watchmen, Regina King is making a return to the comic book world with the film adaptation of the Image Comics series Bitter Root— and this time she's directing.
King, 50, will direct and produce Bitter Root for Legendary Pictures, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Sev Ohanian, Zinzi Coogler, and Black Panther director Ryan Coogler will also join her as producers.
Bitter Root is a monster-filled comic book created by David F. Walker, Sanford Green and Chuck Brown, who will also executive produce the film adaptation. The story, set during the Harlem Renaissance of 1924, follows a family with a long lineage of monster hunting who stands between saving humanity and a supernatural invasion.
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The movie will be King's follow up to her directional debut last year with her Oscar-nominated film, One Night in Miami. The movie — based on Kemp Powers' 2013 stage play of the same name — follows Cassius Clay (later known as Muhammad Ali) on an evening spent with three of his friends, NFL star Jim Brown, singer Sam Cooke and Nation of Islam leader Malcolm X. King's success directing the film led to her making history, becoming the second Black woman in history to earn a Golden Globe nomination for best director.
Along with movies, King has also been busy directing other projects. In March, she discussed a photo essay titled Black Americana: A Photo Essay on Love and Pain which she directed for W Magazine's new Directors Issue for April. The project featured Viola Davis —alongside her husband Julius Tennon and daughter Genesis— and depicts a happy family enjoying a day together, then receiving a devastating phone call the following morning.
"I don't think any of us are particularly happy with the state of America, but we still embrace the fact that we are Black Americans, even with all of the things that have happened in history," King said of the photo essay's inspiration.
Her work on and off-screen over the years has garnered several awards including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, and four Emmy awards. Though King has a number of achievements under her belt, the actress recently told PEOPLE that she feels like people in Hollywood are only now really starting to take notice of her work.
"For me, life has been a series of breakthrough moments," she said. "I pray that never ends."
Along with Bitter Root, King is also preparing to portray congresswoman Shirley Chisholm in an upcoming film.
