John Boyega Set to Take on Denzel Washington in the Book of Eli Prequel Series

Summary

• John Boyega, known for his roles in Star Wars and Attack the Block, will star in a prequel TV series to The Book of Eli, taking on the role previously played by Denzel Washington.
• The original movie’s creative team, including writer Gary Whitta and the Hughes brothers who directed the film, are returning for this new project.
• The TV series will explore the time of the world-changing event or the immediate aftermath, but specifics about the plot and expansion of the original movie are currently unknown.

John Boyega has been lined up as the star of a prequel television series to the 2010 post-apocalyptic action movie The Book of Eli. Boyega, who has amassed quite a fan base from movies like Attack the Block and his time in the Star Wars franchise, will take on the titular role, which was previously portrayed by Denzel Washington. As per Deadline, the original movie’s creative team is getting back together for this new project, with writer Gary Whitta set as creator and executive producer, the Hughes brothers, who directed the original movie, executive producing as well.

The Book of Eli

Release Date January 11, 2010

Runtime 118

Tagline Some will kill to have it. He will kill to protect it.

The Book of Eli is set 30 years after a devastating nuclear event and followed the journey of Eli, a lone wanderer who fought to protect a sacred book that could save humanity. The TV series is reportedly set to explore the time of the world-changing event, or the immediate aftermath, but so far there are very few details known about what the plot of the prequel will be, or how it will expand on the original movie.

The Book of Eli grossed $157.1 million across the world versus an $80 million budget, making it a reasonable hit. Despite Warner Bros. being behind the movie, they are reportedly not involved in the TV series. As one of the biggest IP-based packages to be shopped around in the wake of the Hollywood strikes ending, it will be interesting to see how quickly this project finds a home. No doubt, with strikes and pandemics now over, Hollywood finally seems to have a shot at getting back to some kind of normal, regular output.

Related Best John Boyega Movies, Ranked The Star Wars star has some great movies under his belt. Here’s a look at John Boyega’s best movies, ranked.

The Book of Eli Prequel is a Big Deal for Boyega

Netflix

John Boyega was most recently seen in the Netflix sci-fi comedy They Cloned Tyrone, starring alongside Jamie Foxx and Teyonah Parris, and prior to that he appeared in the historical drama, The Woman King with Viola Davis. On TV, his last appearance was in Steven McQueen’s anthology series Small Axe in 2020, so joining the Book of Eli prequel in the lead role will make it his biggest TV project to date.

As well as this prominent role, Boyega is also set to reprise one of his earliest roles in a sequel to Attack the Block. Although the movie is not yet confirmed to be in production, director Joe Cornish has spoken previously about how he and Boyega have been working on getting the details right to continue the story of Moses, Boyega’s character, in a much bigger movie than the original.

While all this is exciting for Boyega’s fans, one role that he seemingly won’t be taking on anytime soon is that of Kang the Conqueror in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Following the departure of Jonathan Majors from the franchise, Boyega was one of several names that became prominent fan-cast suggestions for Major’s replacement. However, the actor has previously dismissed any interest in joining the MCU, and it appears that he is still standing by this.

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