There's a pretty good chance Nate Parker's directorial debut, The Birth of a Nation, is going to net him an Oscar nomination. But even if that doesn't happen he's already established himself as a director to watch for the future, just based on the huge response to the film from Sundance. And now Parker is taking that success and using it to launch something new over at Legendary.
Parker is joining with Legendary, who really only make blockbuster-sized epics, to direct an original feature in which he'll be "creating a world". That's all the detail we have on it at this point, but it sounds significantly larger than what he did with The Birth of a Nation, and that is enticing in itself.
The question I have is if Parker will use his newfound clout to craft a major studio tentpole centered on the African-American experience, since that is what he seems to be interested in. If that's the case then there's another reason to be excited. We'll likely find out more as he begins doing press rounds later this year. [Deadline]
