Spike Lee Casts Two 'The Wire' Alums For Netflix Drama 'Da 5 Bloods'

Spike Lee's Da 5 Bloods has just added two The Wire alums to its star-studded cast. Clarke Peters and Isiah Whitlock Jr. are joining the cast of the Netflix Vietnam War film, which already stars Black Panther's Chadwick Boseman. Joining them in the Da 5 Bloods cast are Norm Lewis, Mélanie Thierry and Jasper Pääkkönen.Collider reports that Clarke Peters and Isiah Whitlock Jr. are joining the cast of Da 5 Bloods, Spike Lee's latest Netflix collaboration which follows a group of Vietnam War veterans who return to the jungle to find the remains of their fallen squad leader. Peters, Whitlock and Norm Lewis are expected to play three of the four leads, alongside the already-cast Delroy Lindo (Gone in 60 Seconds) who has frequently worked with Lee.

Peters and Whitlock Jr. have worked together before on the acclaimed crime drama The Wire, and both have experienced fruitful roles on the big and small screen — Peters most recently appearing in the Oscar-nominated Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and Whitlock Jr. making a turn in Lee's acclaimed BlacKkKlansman. Both Peters and Whitlock Jr. are about 10 years older than Lewis, but all three of them should nail the grizzled war veteran roles perfectly.

Though Boseman was reported to be the star last month, it seems his role will mostly be offscreen — the Black Panther actor will be playing the fallen squad leader whose rediscovered remains prompt the group's return to Vietnam. Boseman is the biggest name of the cast, and was reportedly initially set to play the son of one of the leads, but the role appears to have gone to Jonathan Majors, according to Collider. Boseman will instead appear mostly in flashbacks to the war.

Here is the synopsis for Da 5 Bloods per Collider:

Da 5 Bloods follows a four African-American veterans who return to Vietnam to search for the remains of their fallen squad leader (Boseman) and the promise of buried treasure. Our heroes battle forces of man and nature as they're confronted by the lasting ravages of the immorality of the Vietnam War.

Da 5 Bloods marks Lee's fourth collaboration with Netflix, kicking off their partnership with a series remake of his film She's Gotta Have It. Lee also directed Roger Guenveur Smith's one man show Rodney King and produced the time-travel movie See You Yesterday.

Lee is writing Da 5 Bloods with his BlacKkKlansman writer Kevin Wilmott, based on an original script written by Danny Bilson and Paul DeMeo, which was subsequently rewritten by Matthew Billingsley. Beatriz and Lloyd Levin are producing with Jon Kilik and Lee.