Or how to steal a planetary movie from Justin Simien’s work

Justin Simien, Vault Comics cover, Tommy Oliver

Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images; Courtesy of Vault Comics; Courtesy of Confluential Films

Director Justin Simien, best known for his iconic films and Netflix series Dear white people And also last year Haunted Palaceteamed up with writer Christopher Yost and Tommy Oliver’s company Confluential Films for the adaptation Steal: Or How to Steal a Planeta sci-fi crime thriller from Vault Comics.

Simien is attached to direct the feature, which stars Yost, a comic book writer who has transitioned to screen work Motorcycle rental And The Mandalorianscript writing.

Oliver will produce alongside Wayne Horton, who brought the project to the company and has a production deal with Confluential.

Damian Wassell and FJ DeSanto executive produce Vault. Simien and Kyle Laursen will executive produce through their Culture Machine banner.

The comic, created by writer Paul Tobin and artist Arjuna Sosini, takes place on the planet Hest, home to billions of the galaxy’s worst criminals. The ruling galactic government has no idea what to do with the planet, but a conman named Glan Breld and his gang of thieves know exactly what to do with the heist: steal it. The story follows Breld in his crazy scheme to pull off the biggest heist in galactic history.

“How to steal the planet “I am impressed and humbled by the challenge of bringing a dose of Afrofuturism to the culture,” Simien said in a statement.

“Vault’s,” Oliver added How to steal a planet It’s just a fun time. I can’t imagine a better duo than Justin Simien and Christopher Yost to bring this to the screen, especially as part of Confluential’s growing slate of tentpole films from creators of color.

Lillian Bedford, Confluential’s newly appointed senior vice president of film and television, will oversee the project for the company.

Confluential, which develops, produces and finances film, television, unscripted, audio, documentary and docuseries, was behind the popular HBO doc 40 years in prisonwhich was directed and produced by Oliver and the OWN series Black love. Last year she saw her doc Going to Mars: Project Nikki Giovanni Winning the Grand Jury Prize for Sundance Documentary and being shortlisted for the Academy Awards. She also released the drama Lily Gladstone Fantasy dance On Apple last year.

theft It’s not Simien’s first brush with comics. The director and his banner are adapting the comic by Geoff Johns Geiger For Paramount. The Culture Machine also produces Fast dance A reboot of the series for Paramount+ with the director set to direct a contemporary take on the Paramount Pictures classic. He is repped by CAA and Grandview.

Yost, who recently returned to comics for the first time in over 10 years with the Vault Fantasy title It’s not normalis represented by Verve and Industry.

Vault is repped by UTA, Industry and Weintraub Tobin.