Laurence Fishburne has been cast to play Alex Haley in the new Roots miniseries that will air on the History Channel, A&E and Lifetime. Haley was the author of Roots: The Saga of an American Family, which served as the basis for the iconic original series and for the new one.
Fishburne will play the role that was originally filled by James Earl Jones in the original 1977 series. Roots tells the story of Kunta Kinte’s American Experience, from the time he was sold as a slave through his family’s liberation. The new series will include material from the novel and new scenes based on new research.
The project was officially announced in April and will air simultaneously on most of the A E Networks. There’s no set premiere date, but the plan is to have it ready next year.
Fishburne currently has a recurring role on ABC’s hit comedy black-ish, which was renewed for a second season. He won the Outstanding Guest Actor Emmy in 1993 for Tribeca and won another in 1997 for producing the TV movie Miss Evers’ Boys. In 1994, he was nominated for an Oscar for What’s Love Got To Do With It. He also plays Perry White in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and starred in NBC’s just-cancelled Hannibal.
Roots is being produced by A E and The Wolper Organization, which produced the original series. LeVar Burton, who played Kunta Kinte in the original series, is a co-executive producer.
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