Singer and actress Janelle Monáe will play the role of artist and activist Josephine Baker in the emerging series “De La Resistance”. Behind the project is the company A24, responsible for the hit “Euphoria” or the latest premieres of “Everything everywhere at once“, “Yang” and “X”.
“De La Resistance” – what will the series tell about?
The protagonist of the series will be Josephine Baker, an American dancer and actress, born in 1906 in Saint Louis. She began her career in New York at the age of 15. After moving to France, she became one of the most recognizable vaudeville artists on the entire continent. She opened her own club in Paris, shocked with bold performances and style. She has also appeared in films, incl. in “La sirène des tropiques”, “Zu-Zu” and “Moulin Rouge”. As an activist, she was involved in the fight for civil rights for black US citizens, she spoke during the famous March on Washington in August 1963. Her story was already adapted for the screen – in the 1991 film “The Story of Josephine Baker”, Lynn Whitfield played the artist.
The new story is to focus on the years of World War II. Back then, Baker was a spy for the French Resistance, but she also performed on stage. The showrunner of “De La Resistance” will be Jennifer Yale (“Legion”, “Outlander”, “See”). Several streaming platforms are currently fighting for the purchase of the rights to distribute the series.
Monáe, who will also become the producer of the project, has already had the opportunity to work with A24. The company was responsible for “Moonlight”, which won an Oscar for the best film of 2017. The singer was nominated for the Grammy award eight times, she made her screen debut. Her other roles include those in the films “Hidden Action”, “Welcome to Marwen”, “Harriet”, “Antebellum” and “Gloria Steinem. My Life on the Road”.
Monáe recently appeared in the upcoming sequel to the crime megahit “Na kne”. Its partners will include Daniel Craig, Dave Bautista, Edward Norton, Ethan Hawke, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Kate Hudson, Madelyn Cline, and Jessica Henwick. The film is expected to hit the Netflix platform in the last quarter of the year.
