Will Smith is tapping into another biopic role, this time he’s going to portray Harlem crime boss Nicky Barnes for Netflix’s film ‘The Council.‘ ⠀
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Written by Peter Landesman, ‘The Council’ is the never-before-told story of a crime syndicate consisting of seven African-American men who ruled Harlem in the 1970s and early 80s. No ordinary crime syndicate–the men dreamed of a self-sufficient and self-policing African American city-state, funded by revolutionizing the drug game. The movie centers on the Shakespearean court intrigue between The Council’s king, Nicky Barnes, dubbed ‘Mr. Untouchable’ by the New York Times, and all the different members as one unlikely rising protégé emerges.⠀
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Smith will star as Barnes a crime boss, active in New York City during the 1970s who led an international drug trafficking ring, in partnership with the Italian-American Mafia, until his arrest in 1978. Barnes was sentenced to life imprisonment and he eventually becoming a federal informant.⠀
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Smith is the third actor to portray Nicky Barnes. The drug boss-turned-informant was first portrayed by Diddy in 2005’s ‘Carlito’s Way: Rise to Power’ and then Cuba Gooding Jr. in 2007’s ‘American Gangster.’⠀
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As of now there isn’t a director attached and no other casting has been announced.⠀
