DeWanda Wise is set to take the lead in Killer Bee, an upcoming action thriller based on David Crownson’s forthcoming graphic novel. In addition to starring, Wise will serve as an executive producer on the project, which is being developed by Tommy Oliver’s Confluential Films, the Black-owned production company behind Fancy Dance and Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project.
Wise, known for Jurassic World Dominion and She’s Gotta Have It, will portray an elite assassin on the brink of retirement who finds herself in a deadly predicament—her final assignment forces her to choose between love and loyalty. Instead of completing the hit, she goes head-to-head with a dangerous criminal syndicate.
The screenplay comes from Kevin Arbouet (Move: The Untold Story of an American Tragedy) and blockbuster writer Terry Rossio, whose credits include Shrek, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.
“With DeWanda, the writing team of Terry and Kevin, and kick-ass source material, we have the ingredients for something very cool, that we are excitedly fast-tracking,” said producer Tommy Oliver, founder of Confluential Films.
Confluential Films continues to build its portfolio of impactful storytelling. Beyond Killer Bee, the company has been behind several critically acclaimed projects, including the Sundance-winning documentary Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project (HBO) and the Lily Gladstone-led Fancy Dance (Apple TV+). The studio has also ventured into the horror space with Goons, a genre film starring Michael Rainey Jr. and Chloe Bailey.
Wise joins Crownson and Jake Coburn as executive producers, alongside Cultivate Entertainment Partners’ Sean Mik’ael Butler and Patrick Strøm, who were instrumental in bringing the project to Confluential.