The first look of Spike Lee and Jordan Peele’s Black KkKlansman features John David Washington and Adam Driver mulling over some Ku Klux Klan paraphernalia.

The image shows both the seriousness and the inherent comedy of the situation, giving us a good idea of the film’s tone. Washington, as Ron Stallworth, the first African-American police officer in Colorado Springs, is showing officer Flip Zimmerman (Driver) his KKK membership card. The two are working together to infiltrate the local KKK chapter; Stallworth provides the voice, while Zimmerman provides the white front to the members.

As incredible as it sounds, Stallworth’s undercover stint to infiltrate and bust the KKK is all true. Washington told Entertainment Weekly some history on Stallworth’s fated membership card. “(Ron) still has his Ku Klux Klan membership card to this day…He passed the card around for us to see and feel, and it kind of just brought truth to everything he said, a validation.”

The film also stars Topher Grace as David Duke, a definite departure from his nice guy roles, with Laura Harrier, Ryan Eggold, and Corey Hawkins. Black KkKlansman comes to theaters August 10.

Black KkKlansman

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