Hugh Jackman has teamed up with director Lee Daniels (Precious) for a film centered around Civil Rights icon Martin Luther King Jr.
Orders to Kill is an adaptation of William F. Pepper’s non-fiction book “Orders to Kill: The Truth Behind the Murder of Martin Luther King Jr” and features a script draft by Hanna Weg.
The film details Pepper’s (Jackman) eighteen years of investigation into the murder of Dr. King, driven by the belief that convicted killer James Earl Ray is not the man who shot MLK, and a more elaborate conspiracy was behind the activist’s death (one involving Memphis police and other members of the U.S. government). Pepper’s one-man campaign eventually landed the support of Dr. King’s son, Dexter King, and culminated with the King family’s wrongful-death lawsuit in 1999, as argued by Pepper.
This is not the first time a conspiracy movie has been made about a public official’s assassination. In 1991 Oliver Stone released his film JFK about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
It’s uncertain when production on the film begins or when a release date will be announced.
