Corey Hawkins Taking Over Jonathan Majors’ Role In Walter Mosley Adaptation ‘The Man In My Basement’

Corey Hawkins is taking over Jonathan Majors’ leading role in upcoming film The Man in My Basement.

Deadline reports that Hawkins, recently seen in The Color Purple, is starring opposite Willem Dafoe as Charles Blakey, a man who’s down on his luck and is facing the potential loss of his ancestral home. Dafoe’s character, an eerie businessman named Anniston Bennett, brings a deal that seems too good to be true: rent the home’s basement out during the summer and get rid of his debt forever.”

“Once Charles accepts,” continues Deadline, “he finds himself led down a terrifying path that confronts his family’s ghosts and locks the men in a terrifying puzzle, at the heart of it race, the source of their traumas and the root of all evil.”

The film is based on the novel by Walter Mosley and will be executive produced by Hawkins is through Andscape, Disney and ESPN’s Black-centered content studio. Andscape will release the film through Hulu via an existing deal. B.O.B. FilmHouse, Protagonist Pictures and Good Gate Media serve as collaborators.

Hawkins’ role was initially given to Majors; according to Vulture, Majors was dropped from the role in April 20 of last year. This is one of several films and business deals Majors was released from after being arrested under suspicion of harassment and physical abuse. Majors was convicted on two out of four charges in December 2023, leading to him being immediately released from one of the biggest bags, Marvel Studios.

Majors was initially hired by Marvel to play new overarching villain Kang the Conqueror, who appeared in Disney+ series Loki and Marvel film Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Majors would have been a part of several films down the line due to Kang’s various reincarnations.