Way back in March of 2014 it was announced that Sony had picked up the rights to Max Brooks’ World War I graphic novel The Harlem Hellfighters, tapping Brooks to pen the script for a feature film adaptation from Will Smith’s Overbrook Entertainment.
Although the movie failed to get off the ground, Heat Vision is now reporting that Overbrook, A+E Studios, and Immersive Pictures have retooled the project as a six-hour event series, which has been picked up by the History Channel and has Jeremy Passmore and Andre Fabrizio (San Andreas) working on the script.
Here’s the official synopsis for the graphic novel:
“THE HARLEM HELLFIGHTERS is a fictionalized account of the 369th Infantry Regiment—the first African American regiment mustered to fight in World War I. From the enlistment lines in Harlem to the training camp at Spartanburg, South Carolina, to the trenches in France, bestselling author Max Brooks tells the thrilling story of the heroic journey that these soldiers undertook for a chance to fight for America. Despite extraordinary struggles and discrimination, the 369th became one of the most successful—and least celebrated—regiments of the war. The Harlem Hellfighters, as their enemies named them, spent longer than any other American unit in combat and displayed extraordinary valor on the battlefield. Based on true events and featuring artwork from acclaimed illustrator Caanan White, these pages deliver an action-packed and powerful story of courage, honor, and heart.”
Originally published March 14, 2017. Updated April 15, 2018.
