Spike Lee has been tapped to direct an ESPN Films documentary that will focus on Colin Kaepernick’s life and career, Variety reports.
“Kaepernick, who has never given a full, first-person account of his journey, is collaborating closely with Lee who plans to use extensive new interviews and a vast never-before-seen archive to help Kaepernick tell his story from his perspective,” a press release reads, perVariety. News of Lee joining the project arrived after the director and Kaepernick were spotted seated next to each other at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday to see the New York Knicks go up against the Memphis Grizzlies.
The multi-part Kaepernick documentary has already started production and was previously announced in 2020 as part of the activist and former NFL star’s first-look deal with Disney. The doc will be executive produced by ESPN Films with 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks. Sports journalist Jemele Hill is attached to the project as a producer. A release date for the doc has yet to be announced.
In other news, Spike Lee landed a multi-year partnership with Netflix that was announced back in December. Lee previously worked with the streamer on Da 5 Bloods and She’s Gotta Have It.
“There is no better way for me and my company Forty Acres and a Mule Filmworks to begin the new year than renew our partnership with Ted, Scott, and Tendo—da fearless leaders of Netflix,” Lee previously said in a statement. “Besides my joints, we together will focus on the new diverse storytellers, YOUTH MUST BE SERVED. And dat’s da truth, Ruth. YA-DIG? SHO-NUFF.”
