Jaden Michael to play Colin Kaepernick in Ava DuVernay-created Netflix series ‘Colin in Black & White’
courtesy of Netflix
Ava DuVernay set to direct first episode of Netflix’s limited series
Jaden Michael will star as a young Colin Kaepernick during his formative high school years in Colin in Black & White. Michael’s past credits include Todd Haynes’ drama Wonderstruck, Baz Lurhmann’s critically acclaimed, The Get Down, and the indie feature, Custody alongside Viola Davis and Ellen Burstyn. Most recently, Michael starred in the lead role in Lorne Michaels’ comedy, Vampires vs. The Bronx.
Colin in Black & White is a limited series created by Colin Kaepernick and Academy Award nominee and Emmy Award winner Ava DuVernay. Emmy Award nominee Michael Starrbury writes and serves as executive producer, alongside DuVernay and Kaepernick who will appear as himself as narrator of the series.
The six-episode series will provide an introspective look at Kaepernick’s adolescent years as a Black teen growing up with a white adopted family. It will follow his journey to become a great quarterback while defining his identity and lending meaningful insight into the acts and experiences that led him to become the activist he is today.
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Critics Choice Association (CCA), San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBAFCC) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
- 2026 Tribeca Festival Celebrates 25th Anniversary with World Premieres of ‘Hadestown: The Musical,’ ‘Earth, Wind & Fire’ Doc - April 16, 2026
- ‘Beef’ Season 2 Review: Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, Cailee Spaeny and Charles Melton Sink Their Teeth Into Lee Sung Jin’s Meaty Morality Tale [A-] - April 16, 2026
- George Clooney to be Honored at 51st Chaplin Award Gala by Stephen Colbert, Sam Rockwell and More - April 15, 2026
2026 Tonys: Laurie Metcalf (‘Little Bear Ridge Road,’ ‘Death of a Salesman’) May Join Elite Group of Double-Nominated Performers 
2026 Tribeca Festival Celebrates 25th Anniversary with World Premieres of ‘Hadestown: The Musical,’ ‘Earth, Wind & Fire’ Doc 
Director Watch Podcast Ep. 149 – ‘Killer of Sheep’ (Charles Burnett, 1978) 
‘Lee Cronin’s The Mummy’ Review: Careful the Spell You Cast, Children Will Listen (and Sometimes Kill) [C]