Netflix Casts Young Colin Kaepernick For Upcoming Series
16-year-old Jaden Michael will portray teenage Colin Kaepernick for Netflix’s upcoming limited series, Colin in Black & White. The show, helmed by Ava DuVernay and written by Michael Starrbury, follows Kaepernick in his younger years before his time as a San Francisco 49ers quarterback. Colin in Black & White will give us a look into Kaepernick’s experience as a Black teen living with a white adopted family.
Michael most recently appeared as the lead in the Netflix comedy film Vampires vs. The Bronx. His other acting credits include the Baz Luhrmann series The Get Down and Todd Haynes’ 2017 drama Wonderstruck. Now Michael will embody Kaepernick, who is known not only as a talented athlete but an activist as well.
Kaepernick made headlines in 2016 when he kneeled during the pre-game National Anthem as a symbol of protest against racial inequality and police brutality. After being unable to find a new team after becoming a free agent, he filed a multi-million dollar collusion lawsuit against the NFL. It was settled in February 2019 with undisclosed terms. Still without a position in the NFL, Kaepernick has since turned his sights towards projects including Colin in Black & White, in which he serves as narrator.
The scripts for Colin in Black & White’s six episodes were completed in May. While it's unknown when the show will commence filming, locking in its major star is a good sign that progress is underway.
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