Yasiin Bey, the former Mos Def, will soon be back in front of cameras reprising a role made infamous by fellow thespian Samuel L. Jackson in the 1997 Quentin Taratino vehicle Jackie Brown. Bey will play a younger version of Jackson’s Ordell Robbie character in the upcoming prequel flick Switch from writer-director Dan Schechter, reports say.
Bey will be joined by Academy Award-nominated actor John Hawkes (Deadwood, Winter’s Bone) who will take on the role of Louis Gara, previously helmed by Robert De Niro. Switch will take place 15 years prior to the events of Jackie Brown where Ordell and Louis shortly continue an alliance of crime just after being released from prison for auto theft.
Switch is based off the Elmore Leonard novel The Switch, similar to Tarantino’s adaption of the Leonard book Rum Punch which formed the basis for Jackie Brown. If the plot follows the book, Switch will possibly feature some of the same tense drama much like the preceding film.
Filming is said to start in May of this year according to a Variety magazine report with a still undetermined release date of 2013. Bey recently starred in the Showtime murder drama Dexter in the role of complex criminal turned spiritual leader Brother Sam.
