ZQ Entertainment has nabbed the rights to the graphic novel Black Cotton Star and are developing the project as a feature film with House Party and Safety director Reginald Hudlin attached to direct, according to a report from Deadline. Deric Hughes & Benjamin Raab of The CW’s Legacies will pen the scrip, having previously worked on the network’s other comic based series Arrow and The Flash. Published by by Pegasus Book in the US, Black Cotton Star, the original graphic novel, was written by Yves Sente and features art by Steve Cuzor. The publisher describes the original series as follows:
“A Revolutionary War-era secret sends three soldiers on an epic quest across 1940s Europe to recover a piece of American history. Philadelphia, 1776: George Washington asks Betsy Ross to design the first flag of the future United States of America. Her housemaid, Angela Brown, adds to it a secret tribute to the black community: a black cotton star that she slips under one of the white ones.’
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“Dover, 1944: A soldier named Lincoln receives a letter from his sister back home that reveals Angela Brown’s memoirs, and wonders if the star that she mentions truly exists. His superiors seem to think so. In light of this revelation, Lincoln and two other African-American soldiers set out on a dangerous mission, ranging from liberated Paris to the snow-covered Ardennes, seeking answers—and the ultimate prize.”
Though Hudlin may be best known for his work on television and the big screen, many comic readers know him best for his three year run on Marvel’s Black Panther comic series. Hudlin’s time with the T’Challa character was a key point in the character’s history and even kickstarted the now long-running romance between he and Storm of the X-Men. His work with the character would go on to become one of the cornerstones of Marvel Studios’ Black Panther movie to boot.
The upcoming Black Cotton Star isn’t Hudlin’s first go at bat to develop a comic for the big screen either as he was previously attached to direct a feature film of Valiant’s Shadowman. Back in 2017 came word that he would collaborate with Adam Simon on the script for the adaptation and had an eye to direct as well. No updates on the project have come since then so it seems likely that the film may not be in the works anymore. To date the only Valiant character that has made it to the big screen has been Bloodshot, which had its box office prospects cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic.
(Cover Photo by Rodin Eckenroth/FilmMagic)
