Will Smith To Star As Nicky Barnes In Netflix's 'The Council'

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Will Smith is bringing the story of Nicky Barnes to the small screen thanks to Netflix.

Photo by Ossie LeViness/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images

According to Deadline, the film is set to follow the notorious crime boss in a “never-before-told story of a crime syndicate consisting of seven African-American men who ruled Harlem in the 1970s and early ’80s. No ordinary crime syndicate – the men dreamed of a self-sufficient and self-policing African American city-state, funded by revolutionizing the drug game. The movie centers on the Shakespearean court intrigue between The Council’s king, Nicky Barnes, dubbed “Mr. Untouchable” by the New York Times, and all the different members as one unlikely rising protégé emerges.”

Photo by Frank Giorandino/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images

Deadline also repots, “Barnes, born Leroy Nicholas Barnes, was active during the 1970s leading an international drug trafficking ring, in partnership with the Italian-American mafia. He was arrested in 1978 and sentenced to life imprisonment, eventually becoming a federal informant, which led to the demise of The Council. Barnes died from cancer in 2012, however, his death was recently made known due to him being under witness protection.”

We’ve seen Will play just about every role over the last 20 years, including his newest film Gemini Man and the highly anticipated Bad Boys For Life, but do you think he can pull this one off? Our guess is yes!