A documentary about the friendship between Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali is coming to Netflix this fall, with Kenya Barris attached as a producer.
The film is called “Blood Brothers: Malcolm X & Muhammad Ali,” and it’s inspired by a book by Randy Roberts and Johnny Smith. It will incorporate never-before-seen archival footage of the two iconic figures, and it will debut on Netflix on Sept. 9.
Marcus A. Clarke is directing “Blood Brothers,” and Barris is producing for Khalabo Ink Society along with Jason Perez. Erynn Sampson is executive producing for Khalabo Ink Society, as are Jonathan Chinn and Simon Chinn for Lightbox, and Simon George.
The documentary aims to portray the misunderstood bond Malcolm X and Ali shared. Their friendship was portrayed in the film “One Night in Miami” from director Regina King, which was a fictionalized account of an evening they spent with Sam Cooke and Jim Brown.
“Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali are two of the most iconic and revered African Americans of the twentieth century, and yet the depths of their friendship and the influence they had on each other is largely unknown. ‘Blood Brothers’ provides a deeper understanding into what made these two men tick, the intense role faith played in their bond and ultimately how their budding friendship came to an abrupt end,” Clarke said in a statement.
Barris and Khalabo Ink Society are also producing an upcoming documentary on civil rights attorney Ben Crump for Netflix.
Clarke directed three episodes of Netflix’s documentary series “Unsolved Mysteries: Volume 1,” as well as three episodes of the Netflix docuseries “Rapture.”
