A man of many talents,Daniel Kaluuya(Get Out) will soon be demonstrating his offscreen abilities. The Academy Award winner has co-written a dystopian flick based in the not-so-distant future titledThe Kitchen. Penned alongsideGangs of Londonwriter,Joe Murtagh, the drama was written for Netflix, which is great news for those of us hoping for a streamer-based release. Not the only two big names attached to the production, Kaluuya and Murtagh will be joined byMichael Fassbenderwho will serveThe Kitchenas an executive producer.
Taking place in the scary near future,The Kitchenwill plant itself in the year 2044. Based in London, the film will tell the tale of a very believable reality surrounding the wealth gap, which, as per the film’s logline, has “been stretched to its limits.” The idea of affordable housing, which, in the present time, is provided by the state, a non-profit organization, or a hybrid of the two, has long since been washed away. Because of this social dissonance, working-class citizens have been pushed to the edges of London to live in The Kitchen. A giant housing complex that offers its residents short-term living quarters, the building serves as a place for families who are not yet ready to leave the city.
Living amongst the countless families searching for a means to an end, are the film’s main characters, Izi and Benji. Izi has lived in The Kitchen for quite some time and is looking for an out no matter the cost. Meanwhile, lost and alone after the death of his mother, Benji is a 12-year-old who desperately wants to create deep bonds with those surrounding him. Throughout the film, audiences will follow both characters as they journey through their upsetting reality on a quest to find some hope in it all.
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Kaluuya came up with the idea forThe KitchenalongsideKibwe Tavares(Noughts + Crosses) andDaniel Emmerson(Calm with Horses). Rapper and actor,Kane Robinson(Top Boy) will star as Izi withJedaiah Bannermanas the lost child, Benji. Emmerson also tags on as a producer for DMC Films with Kaluuya producing through his 59% Productions. The aforementioned Fassbender will be joined on the executive production team byConor McCaughanunder DMC Film withTheo Barrowcloughserving as co-producer.
Revealing how the idea forThe Kitchencame about, Kaluuya takes us back to 2011. In a statement released to accompany the announcement, the actor and writer says the idea first bounced into his head while getting a fresh cut at a barbershop. While posted up in a chair, Kaluuya recalls “there was a guy boasting about smash and grabs - kids doing million-pound heists in a minute, getting paid £200 [$260] to do it.” It was from this statement that Kaluuya says he “saw the potential” to mold a film based around “the inequality, fatherhood, class, joy, resilience, courage, defiance and care of London.” Tossing all of those ideas together and pairing up with a dynamite team, theGet Outstar fleshed out his project.
For Kaluuya fans who will be sweating it out for the film’s 2023 global release on Netflix, they can next catch the actor inJordan Peele’sNope. While no official debut date has been set, stay tuned to Collider for updates.
