Will Smith to Play Harlem Gangster Nicky Barnes in Upcoming Netflix Movie

The film will be written by Peter Landesman, who wrote Smith’s 2015 film Concussion.

Will Smith will portray one of New York City’s most polarizing historical figures.

According to Collider, he’ll produce and star as Nicky Barnes in The Council, a Netflix original movie centered around the story of an organized crime empire based in Harlem in the 1970s. The film will be written by Peter Landesman, who wrote Smith’s 2015 film Concussion.

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This past June, the New York Times reported that Barnes passed away in 2012 at the age of 78, after spending the last 14 years of his life in the witness protection program under a given name.

Barnes was released from prison after serving 20 years when he cooperated with federal investigators to bring down The Council, the crime syndicate that controlled heroin in New York City in the ’70s.

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The film currently has no projected release date.

Source: Collider