Colman Domingo Is The Architect Of The 1963 March On Washington In The Rustin Trailer
My fellow Colman Domingo fans, we have much to look forward to. After lending his voice to computer-generated characters in both "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts" and "Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken" earlier this year, the celebrated "If Beale Street Could Talk" and "Euphoria" star will be back in live-action a big way over the coming months, starting with his performance in the biopic "Rustin."
If you don't know the name Bayard Rustin, well, you're not alone. A key figure in the 1960s Civil Rights Movement, Rustin was essentially the architect of the 1963 March on Washington in which Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his iconic "I Have a Dream" speech. He's typically been overlooked (if not completely erased) in public school curriculums due to the fact that he was gay, which also led to him advising people like King from behind closed doors rather than serving openly as one of the faces of the movement itself. The film's trailer touches on this directly, with Adam Clayton Powell Jr. (Jeffrey Wright) — who, as the Chairman of the Education and Labor Committee, helped to usher in the passage of key civil rights legislation during the '60s — telling Rustin (Domingo), "Your mere presence would derail the fight for racial justice in this country a good 10, 15 years."
No doubt, Netflix is eying this one as a potential awards contender, with "Rustin" hoping to make a splash when it premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 13, 2023. Check out the newly unveiled footage below!
Watch the Rustin trailer
A biopic about a historical figure from a marginalized community (check that, communities) played by a beloved actor? "Rustin" is the second such film of this ilk Netflix has dropped a trailer for recently along with "Maestro," and while it remains to be seen if either of these films can avoid falling prey to the formula that was so memorably skewered in "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story," the talent involved in making them is reason enough to give them the time of day.
Beyond that, it's an exciting time for fans of Domingo, who's been doing terrific character work for decades (though, I admit, he didn't fully register on my radar until his turn as the charismatic, calculating Victor Strand on "Fear the Walking Dead"). Besides "Rustin," he's also starring in the film version of the "Color Purple" stage musical, which could result in him becoming a contender in multiple awards categories assuming Warner Bros. doesn't postpone the film due to the major studios' failure to negotiate a fair contract with the striking actors' and writers' guilds. Ethan Coen's lesbian road trip crime-comedy flick "Drive-Away Dolls," which Domingo co-stars in, has already been pushed out of 2023 for the same reason.
Behind the camera, "Rustin" sees Domingo reuniting with his "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" director George C. Wolfe, who's directing from a script credited to Julian Breece ("When They See Us") and Oscar-winner Dustin Lance Black ("Milk"). Joining Domingo and Wright in the cast are Chris Rock, Glynn Turman, Aml Ameen, Gus Halper, CCH Pounder, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Johnny Ramey, Michael Potts, Lilli Kay, Jordan-Amanda Hall, Jakeem Powell, Grantham Coleman, Jamilah Rosemond, Jules Latimer, Maxwell Whittington-Cooper, Frank Harts, Kevin Mambo, Carra Patterson, Bill Irwin, Cotter Smith, Adrienne Warren, and Audra McDonald.
"Rustin" hits select theaters November 3, 2023, before streaming on Netflix two weeks later starting November 17.