The teaser trailer has dropped for The Man in My Basement, the long-awaited adaptation of Walter Mosley’s acclaimed novel — and it’s giving eerie, intense, and layered.
Set in 1994 Sag Harbor, New York, the psychological thriller stars Corey Hawkins as Charles Blakey, a man teetering on the edge of foreclosure. Desperate to hold on to his ancestral home, Charles accepts an unusual offer from a wealthy, mysterious stranger named Anniston Bennet (played by William Dafoe): rent out his basement for the summer. What seems like a financial blessing turns into something much darker — spiraling into a twisted exploration of race, power, trauma, and morality.
Anna Diop co-stars as Narciss Gully, a local academic dedicated to preserving and uncovering African American histories — particularly those of Black women. Her research takes a turn when she meets Charles and discovers what’s hidden beneath his home.
Directed by Nadia Latif, The Man in My Basement is produced by Andscape, Disney-ESPN’s Black-led content studio, alongside Walter Mosley’s B.O.B. FilmHouse, Protagonist Pictures, and Good Gate Media. The film marks another collaboration between Hawkins and Diop, who previously starred together in 24: Legacy.
Originally, Jonathan Majors was set to star and executive produce the film but was dropped in April 2023 following his assault charge.
The Man in My Basement will stream exclusively on Hulu.