Ava DuVernay Will Direct ‘Caste’ for Netflix

Director Ava DuVernay has been hired to adapt Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, from Pulitzer Prize winner Isabel Wilkerson, for Netflix, according to Deadline. The film will examine the existence of hierarchies in society and its effect on how America came to look how it does.

DuVernay has found success in the past with Netflix, first with the Oscar-nominated documentary 13^th and then with the Emmy-winning limited series When They See Us. This project marks her latest spotlight on pervasive injustice and discrimination. Her 2014 film Selma earned an Oscar nomination for Best Picture, though DuVernay was ultimately snubbed in the directing category for the powerful look at Martin Luther King Jr. and his historic march. She is also producing Colin in Black & White, an upcoming Netflix limited series about Colin Kaepernick.

DuVernay previously worked with Tendo Nagenda, then Executive Vice President of Production at Walt Disney Studios, on the 2018 film A Wrinkle in Time, which grossed more than $100 million domestically. The two will collaborate again on Caste in Tendo’s current capacity as VP of Original Film for Netflix. Sarah Bremner and Paul Garnes have also been named as producers for the film, which comes from Array Filmworks. Their recent releases include Residue and Lingua Franca.