Leslie Odom Jr. to Write and Star in Horror Movie About Sammy Davis Jr. and His Ties to Church of Satan

Tony- and Grammy-winning, three-time Emmy- and two-time Oscar-nominated singer, songwriter and actor Leslie Odom Jr is set adapt the August 2024 Rolling Stone article “Dance With the Devil” by Alex Bhattacharji. Odom will also star in the horror feature.

via: EW

The article explores American singer Sammy Davis Jr.’s "unlikely connection to Anton LaVey and the Church of Satan, what drew Davis into that world, and the surprising overlap between the beloved entertainer and one of America’s most controversial figures," per a release on the development.

The film’s logline reads, “How a TV pilot called Poor Devil begat a friendship between the performer, Sammy Davis Jr., and Anton Szandor LaVey, founder and high priest of the Church of Satan.”

According to a statement from Bhattacharji, the article upon which the project is based is “a sensitive story about a profoundly alienated Davis and his search for acceptance." He adds, "It’s a rollicking ride that touches on complex, timely issues: racial and sexual identity, politics, religion, pop culture, and the counter-culture."

Odom acquired the screen rights for the movie, which will be developed in partnership with Rolling Stone Films, after a bidding war and months of negotiations, according to the release. The project marks the feature film writing debut for the Oscar-nominated One Night in Miami actor.

The news of Odom's latest career move comes on the heels of his final performance in the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical Hamilton on Nov. 26. In April, it was announced that Odom would be returning this fall to reprise his role of Aaron Burr, which he originated in the show's original Off-Broadway and Broadway productions. For the role, Odom famously earned a Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical and a Grammy Award as a principal soloist on the Original Broadway Cast Recording.

In June, Odom also reunited with the show's creator Lin-Manuel Miranda and fellow castmates Phillipa Soo, Daveed Diggs, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Jonathan Groff, Christopher Jackson, Jasmine Cephas Jones, and Okieriete Onaodowan to celebrate the show's 10th anniversary with a reunion performance at the 78th Annual Tony Awards.

Since first departing Hamilton in July 2016, Odom has returned to Broadway in Gutenberg the Musical and a revival of Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch, which itself earned six Tony Award nominations, including one for Odom’s performance, and aired as part of PBS' Great Performances.

Other recent endeavors include appearing in episodes of Abbott Elementary and Apple TV+’s Central Park, for which he earned an Emmy nomination. He's also starred in the films The Many Saints of Newark, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, and The Exorcist: Believer.