'Creed III' Star Jonathan Majors to Star in Spike Lee's Next Joint 'Da Understudy

by Darian Scalamoni

    Jonathan Majors (Creed III, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania) continues to light up the screen with his commanding presence and now, he's set to star in a Spike Lee joint. According to an exclusive from Deadline, Majors will star in Da Understudy which he'll also produce.

    Lee (Do the Right Thing, Malcolm X) has yet to officially sign on, however, he is circling the project which would reunite him with Majors after his last narrative feature Da 5 Bloods for Netflix. Tom Hanada, Zach Strauss and Tyler Cole wrote the screenplay for Amazon Studios as the deal comes following MGM and Amazon's record-breaking opening weekend grosses for Creed III. Majors plays Damian Anderson, a childhood friend turned enemy of the titular Adonis Creed within the film. You can check out what I thought of Majors and the film at my review right here. 

    Creed III went on to be the biggest opening for any of the Rocky/Creed franchises as well as the largest-opening ever for a sports film. Majors also starred as Kang the Conqueror in Marvel's Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania which released back in February. Meanwhile, Da Understudy will tell a story that seems tailor made for Majors where life imitates art as an understudy of a Broadway production finds a role that he's literally willing to kill for. Majors has showed a remarkable intensity brought to his on-screen work and research with this movie coming at a perfect time to elevate his star potential and work with an esteemed filmmaker such as Spike Lee.

    Additionally, though Majors has starred more recently in showy blockbusters, he also had a film premiere at Sundance with Magazine Dreams. In the latter film that has now been picked up for distribution, Majors stars as an aspiring but emotionally damaged amateur bodybuilder who goes down a dark path, with a performance many have compared to Robert De Niro's Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver. He's also set to play Dennis Rodman in 48 Hours in Vegas and will next head into production for The Man in My Basement adapted from the Walter Mosley novel.