Watch Colman Domingo as Civil Rights leader Bayard Rustin in new trailer
By Renee Hansen
The trailer for the Netflix original movie Rustin was fittingly released on the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington, an event organized by the titular character played by Emmy award-winning Colman Domingo. The movie follows the planning of the historical event of which Rustin is barely recognized.
The March on Washington took place on August 28, 1963, and is remembered as the largest peaceful protest in history, where Martin Luther King Jr. made his moving “I Have a Dream” speech. Over 250,000 people gathered at the Lincoln Memorial while millions watched live from their homes, protesting racial discrimination and supporting significant civil rights legislation pending in Congress.
Directed by Tony Award winner George C. Wolfe, known for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, in which Domingo also starred, Rustin is produced by former president Barack Obama and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground production company for Netflix. The screenplay is written by Julian Breece and Dustin Lance Black, with a story by Breece.
Rustin, a gay, charismatic Civil Rights leader, is known as one of the most incredible activists the world has ever known. Obama would posthumously award Rustin the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013.
Rustin Release Date
Rustin will premiere at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) on November 3 and begin streaming on Netflix on November 17.
Rustin Cast
Domingo portrays Rustin in his first lead feature role. Additional cast includes Chris Rock, Jeffrey Wright, Glynn Turman, Aml Ameen, Gus Halper, CCH Pounder, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Johnny Ramey, Michael Potts, Wright, and Audra McDonald, all of whom star as legendary civil rights leaders.
Halper, who portrays a character named Tom, also starred in Fear the Walking Dead with Domingo.
Rustin synopsis
"“He challenged authority, never apologized for who he was, what he believed, or who he desired. And he did not back down. He made history, and in turn, he was forgotten. ‘Rustin’ shines a long overdue spotlight on the extraordinary man who, alongside giants like the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., Adam Clayton Powell Jr. and Ella Baker, dared to imagine a different world and inspired a movement in a march toward freedom.”"
Rustin Trailer
Variety reports that singer-songwriter Lenny Kravitz has recorded an original song for the movie, “Road to Freedom.” One note director George C. Wolfe gave Kravitz was that he “begged for trombones.” Kravitz would provide by enlisting legendary Trombone Shorty to provide the requested trombone. The song will be released later in the year, and according to Wolfe, ” ‘Road To Freedom’ captures both 1963 and 2023; a bold celebration, as Lenny’s voice sermonizes and soars.”
Don’t miss Rustin when it premieres on Netflix on November 17, 2023.
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