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Fela Kuti’s 1973 classic “Gentleman” is heard in the latest trailer for The Thomas Crown Affair.
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Michael B. Jordan stars in the heist thriller and also directs it.
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Jon Batiste scores the film, and the cast includes Adria Arjona, Kenneth Branagh, Lily Gladstone, and Danai Gurira.
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The film is due on March 5, 2027, and reports say the song will make it into the finished film.
November 13, (THEWILL) – Fela Anikulapo Kuti has landed on the Hollywood screen again, and this time it is for “Gentleman.”
The Afrobeat classic can be heard in the latest trailer for The Thomas Crown Affair, the heist thriller Michael B. Jordan both stars in and directs.
For Nigerian fans, that is a proud moment.
A record from 1973, written and produced by Fela and played with his Afrika 70 band, is introduced to a crowd that may never have heard it.
The title track runs past fourteen minutes on the original album, and it has always had an edge. In it, Fela rejects the idea of the “gentleman” who suffers in a “coat” and tie to prove he is respectable, choosing comfort and his own identity instead. Him put him tie, him put him coat, a line from the song lyrics reads.
That makes the pairing rather interesting.
Jordan plays a polished art thief, a man whose whole image rests on being the ultimate gentleman.
Reports also suggest the song will appear in the finished film, though it is unclear at this time where or how it will be used.
The Thomas Crown Affair is due on March 5, 2027, from Amazon MGM Studios. Adria Arjona, Kenneth Branagh, Lily Gladstone, and Danai Gurira are in the cast, and Grammy winner Jon Batiste composed the original score.
It is also a big step for Jordan as a filmmaker. He recently took home the best actor Oscar for Ryan Coogler’s Sinners, and this film puts him directly in the director’s chair.
Fela’s music has travelled far beyond Nigeria, from the stage musical Fela! to the 2014 documentary Finding Fela, and every new placement brings it to another generation.
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What to know about the film
The Thomas Crown Affair is a reboot of a heist story that has been made before.
Steve McQueen played the charming thief in the original, and Pierce Brosnan took the role in a later version.
Amazon announced plans to revive the franchise in 2023 after buying MGM, and Jordan was attached to direct and star.
Gertrude Oby is a writer and journalist passionate about the creative industries. Works span fashion, film, media, art, and culture.