‘Rustin’ Netflix Movie: Everything We Know So Far

Everything we know about Colman Domingo's new biopic on Netflix.

‘Rustin’ Netflix Movie: Everything We Know So Far
Picture: Netflix Higher Ground Productions, founded by former US president Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama, is set to produce another film for Netflix as part of their overall deal with the streamer. Rustin will tell the story of Bayard Rustin, the late civil rights activist who will be played by Colman Domingo. Here’s everything you need to know. Netflix’s Rustin will be directed by Emmy nominee George C. Wolfe who worked on Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom for Netflix, which starred the late Chadwick Boseman. The script for Rustin was written by Dustin Lance Black, who won an Oscar for his screenplay for 2008’s Milk starring Sean Penn. Cinematography on the project is being done by Tobias Schliessler (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and A Wrinkle in Time) with costume design by Toni-Leslie James. Netflix provided our very first look at Rustin on August 4th, 2022: Picture: Netflix What is the plot of Rustin? Martin Luther King Jr. and Bayard Rustin – Picture: Getty Images Netflix’s Rustin is a film based on the life of late civil rights activist Bayard Rustin, who was a strategist and activist promoting nonviolent strategies for social change for more than half a century. He’s best known for his organization of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, the platform for Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. His work was sometimes hampered by many considered controversial past, including membership in the Young Communist League; a three-year prison term for refusal to cooperate with the military on conscientious grounds; and his open homosexuality, including an arrest for lewd vagrancy. Sen. Strom Thurmond denounced Rustin on the Senate floor prior to the 1963 march. Rustin died in 1987 following a visit to Haiti, where he explored the possibility of democratic change in conjunction with a pending election. President Obama posthumously awarded Bayard Rustin with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013. Who is cast in Rustin? In July 2021, we heard that Colman Domingo was being eyed for the lead role, which is now confirmed. Domingo is best known for appearing in Fear The Walking Dead, Netflix’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, and Candyman. Picture: Getty Images In October 2021, the lid was lifted on the full cast list for Netflix’s Rustin. Here’s a rundown of who will be starring: Colman Domingo (Lincoln) as Bayard Rustin CCH Pounder (The Shield) as Dr. Anna Hedgeman Bill Irwin (Rachel Getting Married) as A.J. Muste Aml Ameen (The Maze Runner) as Martin Luther King Jr. Carra Patterson (Straight Outta Compton) as Coretta Scott King Michael Potts (Show Me a Hero) as Cleveland Robinson Adrienne Warren (Blue Bloods) as Claudia Taylor Frank Harts (Billions) as James Farmer Johnny Ramey (Rage Room) as Elias Taylor Ayana Workman (Person of Interest) as Elanor Holmes Gus Halper (Dickinson, Cold Pursuit) as Tom Chris Rock (Stand-up, Top Five, Fargo) as Roy Wilkins Da’Vine Joy Randolph (Dolemite Is My Name) Audra McDonald (Beauty and the Beast) as Ella Baker Glynn Turman (Super 8) as A. Philip Randolph Cast grid for Netflix’s Rustin – Pictures: Getty Images What’s the production status of Rustin? Netflix’s Rustin biopic is set to enter production in the Summer 2021 according to issue 1253 of Production Weekly. Filming took place in Pittsburgh and Ohio. Filming was scheduled to start in August 2021 before wrapping up in December. Actual filming seemed to have started slightly later than planned in September 2021. As a result, reports have suggested that filming will be ongoing until the middle of December. According to reports, filming wrapped on December 12th, 2021. Filming of March – Picture: IMDb In October 2021, Colman Domingo spoke to 100.7 Star in Pittsburgh about the film. He spoke about the scale of the film saying how the production is recruiting thousands of extras saying: “We need thousands of background (actors). And we don’t even call them background on our show. They’re called atmosphere artists. We need a lot of people, a lot of bodies. Black, white, old, young… I always think being an atmosphere artist is great training ground. You can see how a set operates…” According to TribLive, Netflix recruited 2,000 extras for the movie. Throughout the course of the movie, we’ve seen various eyewitnesses catching filming including the Port Authority of Pittsburgh notifying everyone that while most bus routes are being diverted, some slightly older busses were taking their place on sixth avenue. https://twitter.com/PGHtransit/status/1452726756876685327 Joshua Alexrod from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette posted an article akin to ours here with a few new shots from behind the scenes. Picture: Steve Mellon/Post-Gazette Picture: Steve Mellon/Post-Gazette What is the release date of Rustin? Rustin was originally included in the 2022 slate but as the year progressed, it became increasingly clear that it would be skipping a 2022 release. Instead, Netflix has since provided (via social media) that the movie has shifted to 2023. Activist. Visionary. Truth-seeker. Here’s a first look at director George C. Wolfe's Rustin, starring Colman Domingo as Bayard Rustin, the brilliant gay civil rights leader. Coming in 2023. pic.twitter.com/5T0du6klvJ — Netflix (@netflix) August 4, 2022 Are you looking forward to watching Rustin on Netflix? Let us know in the comments down below.