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SYFY WIRE Regina King

Regina King takes the directing throne in adaptation of Image Comics' Bitter Root

By Vanessa Armstrong
Regina King

Regina King of Watchmen fame is involved in another project bringing a comic book series to the screen. Deadline is reporting that King will direct a feature adaptation of Image Comics’ Bitter Root.

The Bitter Root  movie adaptation has been in the works at Legendary Entertainment since at least the end of 2019, when Black Panther director Ryan Coogler announced that he was co-producing the project.

King and her partner Reina King will also be co-producing along with Coogler, Zinzi Coogler, and Sev Ohanian of Proximity Media. The creators of Black Root — David F. Walker, Sanford Greene, and Chuck Brown — will executive produce the feature along with Drapetomedia’s Sean Owolo. Bryan Edward Hill, whose previous credits include Ash vs. Evil Dead and Titans, is rewriting the script.

Bitter Root follows the Sangeryes, a broken family of monster hunters who live during the 1924 Harlem Renaissance. The family must come back together and take up their monster-fighting ways once again, however, when an evil force that feeds off prejudice invades New York City and turns people into monsters. In order to stop the supernatural invasion, the remaining Sangerye family members must overcome their differences and work together to save New York and the rest of the world. The comic was nominated for a 2019 Eisner Award for best new series and a 2019 Ringo Award for best series.

King is likely best known by comic book fans for playing Angela Abar, the Tulsa cop (among other things) in HBO’s Watchmen. The limited series was inspired by the graphic novel by writer Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons, and takes place after the events of the comic. King — whose directorial debut in 2020’s One Night In Miami received much acclaim —  will once again be behind the camera for Bitter Root. Whether she also takes on a role in front of the camera, however, remains to be seen.

No news yet on when Bitter Root will go into production or make its way to a theater near you.