Stephan James and JK Simmons are set to star in the upcoming film, National Champions. The film will be written by Adam Mervis, directed by Ric Roman Waugh and produced by Basil Iwanyk.
National Champions will center around a star college quarterback played by James. Hours before the season’s biggest game, he will lead a protest in hopes of garnering fair compensation, equity, health care and benefits for student-athletes.
James is best known for his roles in If Beale Street Could Talk, 21 Bridges, Selma and Homecoming. Most notably, he played Jesse Owens in the 2016 film, Race. In the coming months, he’s set to star in The Things They Carried, Delia’s Gone, Rob Peace and American Son with Russell Crowe.
JK Simmons was recently spotted in Zack Snyder’s Justice League as Commissioner Gordon. He is also a key piece of Amazon’s new series, Invincible. Later this year, he’ll showcase his talents in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Waugh will lead this film after directing Greenland in 2020. He has also directed films like Angel Has Fallen and Shot Caller.
“Our experience with Ric on Greenland was nothing short of extraordinary,” STX Chairman Adam Fogelson told Deadline.
“When we had the opportunity to work with him and our friends at Thunder Road and game1 on National Champions, we jumped at the chance. This is a film that taps into important issues and does it with compelling, authentic and memorable characters.”
