Michael Jai White is writer, director and star of the Western comedy opening Sept. 15.
Try to imagine a mix of Buck and the Preacher, Blazing Saddles, and maybe a half-dozen or so 1970s blaxploitation B-movies starring Fred Williamson, and you might be ready for Outlaw Johnny Black. At least, that’s the impression we got while watching the very amusing trailer for this satirical comic Western, which will gallop into theaters Sept. 15.
Michael Jai White (Spawn, Black Dynamite) is writer, director and star of the Samuel Goldwyn Pictures release, which co-stars Anika Noni Rose, Erica Ash, Byron Minns, Kym Whitley, Tony Baker, Tommy Davidson, Paul Rodriguez, Glynn Turman — who’ll soon be seen in Kevin Costner’s epic Horizon: An American Saga — and Barry Bostwick.
What’s it all about? Hellbent on avenging the death of his father, Johnny Black (White) vows to gun down the notorious Brett Clayton (Chris Browning of Prime Video’s The Lincoln Lawyer) — and becomes a wanted man in the process. He goes into hiding, posing as a preacher in a small mining town that’s been taken over by a notorious land baron. But, of course, he can’t remain undercover as a man of the cloth for very long. Especially when it’s discovered that there’s gold in them there hills.
Says White: “I hope this movie, inspired by the late Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte, creates for others the kind of joy I felt as a child when I could watch movies over and over with my family and get something new each time!”
Here is the trailer for Outlaw Johnny Black.
