Daniel Kaluuya Set To Make Screenwriting Debut In, 'The Kitchen'

Daniel Kaluuya's rise to the top of Hollywood's hierarchy has been remarkable. He used to be a little-known British stage actor but now stars as one of Hollywood's most highly prized actors. The actor, who debuted his career in 2006, has subsequently been in critically acclaimed films such as "Get Out," "Black Panther," "Widows," "Queen and Slim," and "Judas and the Black Messiah," the latter of which earned him many awards.

Although Kaluuya rose to recognition through his acting, he also enjoys writing, having contributed to numerous episodes of the comedy-drama "Skins" during the outset of his acting career. Now, the Academy Award winner is hoping to show off more of his writing abilities in Netflix's forthcoming dystopian thriller "The Kitchen."

According to Deadline, Daniel Kaluuya is stepping behind the camera to pen his first official screenplay. The new project comes after his best-supporting actor Oscar win for playing the Black Panther Party leader Fred Hampton in "Judas and the Black Messiah."

Dubbed "The Kitchen," the dystopian thriller will also feature "Calm with Horses" and "Gangs of London" writer Joe Murtagh as a writing collaborator. Kaluuya will also produce the film under his 59 percent Productions banner, while Daniel Emmerson will produce for DMC Film, Michael Fassbender's production company. Conor McCaughan and Fassbender will work as executive producers for DMC Film, while Theo Barrowclough will act as co-producer.

Kaluuya's "The Kitchen" has already cast some of the best performers in the UK, including Kane' Kano' Robinson of Top Boy, who portrays Izi, and newcomer Jedaiah Bannerman, who plays 12-year-old Benji. The rest of the cast details have been kept under wraps but should be released once filming begins.

The Kitchen, set in 2044 London, depicts a gloomy futuristic society where the income divide between wealthy and poor has reached its breaking point. Due to the elimination of all types of social housing, London's working class is now forced to live in makeshift dwellings on the city's outskirts.

 However, "The Kitchen," London's last hamlet, is the first and largest of its sort, housing inhabitants who refuse to move on and out of the location they call home. Residents Izi, who is trying to find a way out, and 12-year-old Benji, who has lost his family, are at the center of the narrative as they jointly try to battle a system that limits their hope and aspirations.

Kaluuya said in an Instagram post that the film has been eight years in the works and added it had been engraved in his head since he discovered in a barbershop that teenagers were getting paid £200 for committing million-pound heists.

In a separate interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the actor explained how the barbershop experience sparked an idea to tell a unique narrative about inequality, fatherhood, class, joy, resilience, courage, defiance, and care of London.

He went on to say that he hopes the film interrogates what 'care' means at home and as a society, as well as the dangers that await us if we remain oblivious to everything around us."

Meanwhile, the project will be directed by Kibwe Tavares, which serves as his feature directorial debut. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Tavares explained that when "The Kitchen" premieres, it will have a significant motivating influence on viewers.

"The Kitchen is very much a love letter to London, the city that has defined my childhood and ultimately my identity," said Tavaras. "It's set in an extreme version of our current world; our characters have little choice but to let the city take over them. Through Benji, a 12-year-old in need of care, we explore what we as a society lose in the ever-changing and shifting patterns of life in our cities. This is a film for all the communities out there that are trying to take care of each other."

"The Kitchen" will debut on Netflix in 2023.