Viola Davis Will Play Harriet Tubman in an HBO Biopic

Great news for Viola Davis fans and bad news for people exhausted with slave movies: Davis is officially starring as Harriet Tubman in an HBO biopic.

Davis is also co-executive producing the project, the material for which was sourced from historian Kate Clifford’s book, Bound for the Promise Land.

According to Deadline:

…the film, now in development, tells the story of American hero Tubman. Born a slave, she escaped and, via an intricate escape network of secret routes and safe houses known as the Underground Railroad, she led more than 300 slaves to freedom in the North and later fought with the Union during the Civil War.

Kirk Ellis—the writer who worked on HBO’s historical mini-series John Adams—is also on board, with production by Steven Spielberg’s Amblin TV and Entourage’s Doug Ellin.

Coincidentally, two other projects about the Underground Railroad are currently in motion, including the drama Underground (Kanye is reportedly a musical consultant) and NBC’s upcoming Stevie Wonder-produced Freedom Run.