EXCLUSIVE: After garnering rave reviews for his South London-set Netflix superhero series Supacell and securing a second season order, Andrew “Rapman” Onwubolu has inked a deal to reteam with the streamer as the director of crime biopic The Council.
Written by filmmaker Peter Landesman (Concussion, Parkland), with revisions by Rapman, The Council tells the never-before told story of a crime syndicate consisting of seven African-American men who ruled Harlem in the 1970s and early ’80s, focusing on Nicky Barnes, the crime boss dubbed “Mr. Untouchable” by The New York Times.
Matt Jackson (Children of Blood and Bone, Flowervale Street) will produce for Jackson Pictures, alongside Jason Essex for Anonymous Nobodies, and James Lassiter. Joanne Lee of Jackson Pictures and Landesman will serve as executive producers.
Onwubolu created, wrote, and directed Supacell, a six-episode series that follows five ordinary Black individuals who unexpectedly develop superpowers linked to their family history of sickle cell disease. Starring Tosin Cole, the show premiered last June and topped Netflix’s global Top 10 for six weeks, amassing 179.6 million hours viewed in the second half of 2024. It was picked up for a second season months later.
A BAFTA-nominated rapper, director, producer, and writer, Onwubolu first gained recognition for his three-part YouTube series Shiro’s Story before making his feature debut with the crime drama Blue Story. He, Landesman, and Jackson are all repped by CAA.
Onwubolu is also repped by André Des Rochers at Granderson Des Rochers; Landesman by Dan Halsted at Manage-ment; and Jackson by Neil Sacker at Sacker Entertainment Law.
