Viola Davis to Star in Film of August Wilson's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

Viola Davis will star in a new Netflix film adaptation of August Wilson's stage play Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. George C. Wolfe will direct the film, with Wilson vet Ruben Santiago-Hudson adapting the drama for the screen. Denzel Washington will produce alongside Todd Black, Dany Wolf, and Wilson's widow, Constanza Romero.

Davis, who earned a Tony and Oscar for starring in Wilson's Fences, will head the company, alongside Chadwick Boseman, Emmy winner Glynn Turman, Colman Domingo, and Michael Potts. Shooting begins in July in Pittsburgh.

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom is this third installment in Wilson's Century Cycle. It depicts the racism and exploitation in the music industry through a 1927 recording session with the legendary blues singer Ma Rainey.