Yahya Abdul Mateen II will produce and star in an adaptation of Roger Hobbs’s casino heist novel Ghostman.
With filming for Marvel’s Wonder Man all wrapped up, Candyman and The Trial of the Chicago 7 actor Yahya Abdul Mateen II is hitting the casino floor! No, he’s not gambling his earnings away. He’s rolling the dice on a new series called Ghostman. The project hails from Mateen’s House Eleven10 production studio through his first-look deal with Sony TV. In addition to producing, Yahya Abdul Mateen II stars in the adaptation of Ghostman, based on Roger Hobbs’s novel.
Here’s the official logline for Ghostman:
“The Ghostman specializes in making things disappear, but when a botched casino heist leaves millions in cash up for grabs, he has just 48 hours to clean up the mess—while staying ahead of someone who wants him dead.”
For a more detailed description of the plot, check out this synopsis of Hobbs’s novel courtesy of Amazon:
In a daring operation, two crooks-for-hire rob an Atlantic City casino. But their heist goes horribly wrong, and only one of them makes it out alive. Now he’s on the run with half a million dollars vacuum-packed into a bundle the size of a briefcase. Little does he know it’s rigged with explosives.
Almost immediately, an expert fixer named Jack is in cross-country pursuit. With less than foty-eight hours to recover the money, clean up the mess, and—for god’s sake—try not to botch the job like he did last time….
“We are thrilled to be partnering with Katherine, Lauren, Andrew, Eric, and the excellent team at Sony Pictures Television,” said Abdul-Mateen. “House Eleven10 is a place where creativity is limitless, and we could not have found a better home to share our vision of creating boundary pushing and exciting stories.”
“We are thrilled to have Yahya and his production team join the Sony family,” said Andrew Plotkin, executive vice president of drama development at Sony Pictures Television. “Not only is he an incredible performer, but he is also a passionate storyteller whose creativity and vision will elevate every project he touches. His dedication to bringing complex, compelling narratives to life aligns perfectly with our commitment to delivering unique and impactful stories to audiences worldwide.”
Elsewhere in TV Land, Yahya Abdul Mateen II recently completed work on Netflix’s Man on Fire TV series, based on the novels by A.J. Quinnell. The story follows John Creasy, a wounded former mercenary, on a quest to get revenge for the loss of his only companion while defending the daughter of his dead colleague from the forces that tore her family apart. Tony Scott directed a version of the story in 2004, with Denzel Washington, Dakota Fanning, and Christopher Walken leading the cast. Mateen also stars in the upcoming series Scent of Burnt Flowers. Set in the 1960s, the plot focuses on a black couple fleeing persecution in the United States and finding asylum in Ghana, where they meet Kwesi, who supports them in preserving their freedom.
Have you read Roger Hobbs’s Ghostman novel? Are you excited about Yahya Abdul Mateen getting attached to another worthwhile television project with Ghostman? Let us know in the comments section below.
