Fresh off starring as Emmett Till, in Till, Jalyn Hall will once again take on the role of an important historical figure in Genius: MLK/X, an upcoming National Geographic/Disney+ documentary on the opposing lives of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. Hall has been officially announced as a young MLK in the upcoming first installment of what will be a documentary anthology series, which will also star Kelvin Harrison Jr. and Aaron Pierre.
First announced in September, Genius: MLK/X is an upcoming documentary being produced for National Geographic under Disney+. The documentary, according to Deadline, will follow the “formative years, pioneering accomplishments, dueling philosophies and key personal relationships” of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, who were both key figures in the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 60s, but will drastically different ideas of what civil equality looks like. Kelvin Harrison Jr. will star as the adult version of King, with Aaron Pierre joining him as Malcolm X.
With nearly a dozen historians and social experts joining the production of Genius: MLK/X for Disney+, including former Black Panther Party member Jamal Joseph, Malcolm X’s eldest daughter Ambassador Shabazz, and Pastor Michael A. Walrond, Jr., the project will be directed and produced by Channing Godfrey Peoples, whose previous projects include Miss Juneteenth.
Jalyn Hall as Young MLK in ‘MLK/X’
Jalyn Hall will be joining Genius: MLK/X in a guest starring role as a young Martin Luther King, Jr., as the documentary explores MLK’s formative years and how those experiences formed him into the civil rights leader that’s gone down in history today. In the same line as the new film, one of Jalyn Hall’s most recent roles was as Emmett Till in the eponymous Till (2022), a documentary exploring the wrongful 1955 murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till, created in honor of Till’s mother, Mamie (Danielle Deadwyler. The film received a 98% critic score and 97% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, with reviews stating that “Till reframes [a] historically horrific murder within a mother’s grief, brought heartwrenchingly to life by [Deadwyler’s] tremendous performance.”
Aside from Till and Genius: MLK/X, some of Hall’s other roles include Darious in Bruiser (2022), where he starred alongside Trevante Rhodes, Shamier Anderson, and Shinelle Azoroh, along with the lead role of Dillon James in the CW sports drama series All American (2018), according to Deadline.
A release date for Genius: MLK/X hasn’t been released yet, but more information will likely become available as production of the film continues. Genius: MLK/X will eventually be available to stream on National Geographic and Disney+.
