With the success and acclaim of movies like 12 Years a Slave and Django Unchained, it wasn't too surprising this week when History Channel announced it was tapping Allen Hughes to direct a reboot of the slavery epic Roots.
Like the award-winning 1977 miniseries based on Alex Haley's novel, which became the second most-watched TV series in history, the new miniseries will have eight parts, Indiewire reported.
That original miniseries, which introduced Levar Burton as Kunta Kinte, has lived on in pop culture for younger generations, partly because it's often shown in classrooms, and partly thanks to Dave Chappelle's classic "Roots Outtakes" sketch (and also because it's really, really well made).
With his twin Albert, Allen Hughes is one half of the screenwriting/directing duo The Hughes Brothers, whose output includes the films Menace II Society, Dead Presidents and The Book of Eli.
[Via Indiewire]
