An adaptation of Ron Wimberly‘s graphic novel Prince of Cats is on the way.

Legendary won an auction to acquire the feature rights, and are developing the adaptation with Lakeith Stanfield attached to star. The story is described as a re-telling of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet set in the ’80s.

Here’s a description of the graphic novel from Amazon:

Prince of Cats is the B side to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, played at an eighties block party in a NY where underground sword dueling blossomed alongside hip-hop, punk, disco and no wave. It’s the story of the minor players with Tybalt at the center. Like Shakespeare’s originals, Prince of Cats implements various formalist restraints. The definitive printing of Ronald Wimberly’s critically acclaimed first work, presented as intended for the first time.

For those who aren’t familiar with Romeo and Juliet, Tybalt is Juliet’s cousin and Romeo’s rival. Mercutio often calls Tybalt “Prince of Cats” due to his name being the same as a character in Reynard the Fox.

Also attached to the project is Selwyn Seyfu Hinds, who’s set to write the adaptation. Seyfu Hinds recently wrote an adaptation of Nnedi Okorafor’s Who Fears Death for HBO, which is being executive produced by Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin.

Wimberly’s Prince of Cats was originally published by DC’s Vertigo, and is now published by Image Comics.

Stanfield is best known for his roles in Jordan Peele’s Get Out and the recently released Sorry to Bother You. He has also appeared in Short Term 12, The Purge: Anarchy, Selma, Dope, Straight Outta Compton, Izzy Gets the F*ck Across Town, Death Note, and Atlanta among others. He can soon be seen in the upcoming The Girl in the Spider’s Web, a sequel to 2011’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

No release window for Prince of Cats has been announced yet.

[Source: Deadline]

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