Jovan Adepo, Saniyya Sidney Join ‘Fences,’ Mykelti Williamson, Russell Hornsby Reprise Roles

Mykelti Williams and Russell Hornsby will reprise their role in the Tony-winning Fences, which is set to go before the cameras on April 15th. After much speculation for the role of Cory (that included Creed‘s Michael B. Jordan) Jovan Adepo (The Leftovers) has been cast. Saniyya Sidney (the upcoming Hidden Figures) will star as Raynall. The four join Viola Davis and Denzel Washington in the lead roles that won them Tony Awards. Washington will direct.

The story of bringing August Wilson’s Fences to the big screen is a long one that involved many starts and stops, including almost being a part of Washington’s deal with HBO to bring various Wilson plays to the small screen.

Originally a 1983 play, Fences focuses on the Maxson family of Pittsburgh (the sixth in Wilson’s 10-part “Pittsburgh Cycle”) and explores race relations in the 1950s through the eyes of the African-American experience. Head of household Troy (Denzel Washington) used to have dreams of playing major league baseball (when no blacks were allowed) and now makes a living as a garbage collector. He lives with his wife Rose (Viola Davis) and two sons, Cory and Gabriel. Angels in America playwright and Lincoln screenwriter Tony Kushner is adapting the play and also plays the role of associate producer.

With a 30-40 day shoot, the film is expected to wrap and be ready for this year’s awards season and is being released by Paramount.

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Erik Anderson

Erik Anderson is the founder/owner and Editor-in-Chief of AwardsWatch and has always loved all things Oscar, having watched the Academy Awards since he was in single digits; making lists, rankings and predictions throughout the show. This led him down the path to obsessing about awards. Much later, he found himself in film school and the film forums of GoldDerby, and then migrated over to the former Oscarwatch (now AwardsDaily), before breaking off to create AwardsWatch in 2013.

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.

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