Samuel L. Jackson and John David Washington are bringing their recent stage collaboration, The Piano Lesson, to the screen.
After reviving August Wilson’s play on Broadway in 2022 alongside Jackson’s wife, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Ray Fisher, and John David Washington, the team is now working with Denzel Washington and his younger son, Malcolm Washington, to adapt the story for Netflix.
The trailer, which debuted on August 21, features Jackson, 75, reprising his role as Doaker Charles, and John David, 40, returning as Boy Willie. The film is set in 1936 Pittsburgh, in the aftermath of the Great Depression.
“A battle is brewing in the Charles household,” the movie’s synopsis begins. “At the center stands a prized heirloom piano, tearing two siblings apart. On one side, a brother (John David) plans to build the family fortune by selling it.”
“On the other, a sister (Danielle Deadwyler) will go to any lengths to hold onto the sole vestige of the family’s heritage. Their uncle (Jackson) tries to mediate, but even he can’t hold back the ghosts of the past,” the synopsis continues.
In the gripping trailer, John David’s voiceover plays over several intense scenes, beginning with, “You feel that? That’s your family. That’s your blood.”
“Tell your mama to tell you about that piano,” he adds, as eerie forces seem to close in on several characters in a thrilling montage. “Ask her how them pictures got on there.”
Samuel L. Jackson and John David Washington (Photo: Julieta Cervantes)
The Piano Lesson originally premiered as a play in 1987, with Jackson debuting the role of Boy Willie at the Yale Repertory Theatre before serving as an understudy for multiple roles during the play’s 1990 Broadway run.
When Jackson and his wife revived the play in 2022 — with Richardson, 74, making her directorial debut — Jackson took on the role of Doaker, while John David played Boy Willie, a role he reprises in the new film.
This adaptation comes nearly 30 years after the first film version, directed by Lloyd Richards.
The upcoming Netflix film marks Malcolm Washington’s directorial debut; he co-wrote the screenplay with Virgil Williams (Mudbound).
While Denzel, 69, does not appear in the film, he serves as a producer. Michael Potts also stars in the movie, having appeared in the Broadway revival.
The film also features performances by Erykah Badu, Skylar Aleece Smith, Jerrika Hinton, Gail Bean, and Corey Hawkins, with two-time Oscar winner Alexandre Desplat composing the music.
The Piano Lesson will be released in select theaters on November 8, before streaming on Netflix starting November 22.
