LaKeith Stanfield and Omar Sy to star in The Book of Clarence

LaKeith Stanfield and Omar Sy are set to star in ‘The Book of Clarence’.

The duo have been tapped to appear as the leads in Jeymes Samuel’s latest film, a follow-up to his acclaimed Netflix western ‘The Harder They Fall’.

The movie is an original project that Samuel has written and he will also direct, produce and compose the flick. Plot details are being kept under wraps but the film will be set during the bible era with Stanfield playing the role of Clarence.

James Lassiter, Tendo Nagenda and rapper Jay-Z will produce the movie after collaborating with Samuel on ‘The Harder They Fall’.

Jeymes described the project as a “fun-filled extravaganza” that can be compared to biblical epics such as ‘The Ten Commandments’ and ‘Ben-Hur’.

The filmmaker told Deadline: “You remember those biblical epics, whether they were about the Bible or just taking place around it, from ‘The Ten Commandments’ to ‘The Greatest Story Ever Told’, ‘Samson and Delilah’ and ‘Ben-Hur’, which runs alongside all that stuff in the Bible? As will be ‘The Book of Clarence’, a full fun-filled extravaganza. It’s written and ready to go, and set in 29 AD.”

The project reunites Samuel and Stanfield after the actor appeared as a villainous gunslinger in ‘The Harder They Fall’.

Samuel previously described how excited he was to make a biblical film with black cast members at the centre.

The 43-year-old director said: “This is exactly what excites me. Firstly, the Bible’s the biggest franchise in the world. The biggest superhero, the most famous superhero of all time is Jesus himself.

“All that stuff the Bible doesn’t speak of fascinates me about the era. The Bible just gives you bricks. But the mortar you’re meant to fill in yourself.”