Hamilton Star Leslie Odom Jr. Plans To Explore A Secret Part Of Entertainer Sammy Davis Jr.’s Life In A New Horror Film
Leslie Odom Jr. is stepping straight into the shadows for his next major project, choosing to adapt a 2024 Rolling Stone investigation that dug into Sammy Davis Jr.’s bizarre and long-rumored connection to the Church of Satan. Because apparently Broadway wasn’t dramatic enough.
The Tony and Grammy winner, best known for turning Aaron Burr into a cultural moment in Hamilton, has reportedly secured the screen rights to Alex Bhattacharji’s article “Dance With the Devil.” He plans to write the script and star in it himself, a level of ambition that would exhaust a lesser mortal.
Deadline says the film will trace the same strange trail Rolling Stone followed: a short-lived TV pilot called Poor Devil, Davis’ unlikely friendship with Church of Satan founder Anton Szandor LaVey, and the deeper questions of why the legendary entertainer drifted toward the controversial group in the first place.
Bhattacharji has described the article as a “sensitive story about a profoundly alienated Davis and his search for acceptance,” noting that the journey touches on everything from racial and sexual identity to politics, religion, pop culture and the counterculture movements of the era. In other words, not exactly light material.
Hollywood has tried to revisit Davis’ complicated life before. Back in 2022, Elijah Kelley was announced as the lead of Hulu’s planned limited series In Black and White: The Life of Sammy Davis Jr., inspired by Alex Haley’s interviews and focused on Davis’ layered relationship with Black communities. By 2023, the streamer scrapped the project entirely, proving once again that development hell remains undefeated.
Odom Jr.’s new film announcement arrives just days after he took his final bow as Aaron Burr in Hamilton, a run that earned him a Tony for Best Leading Actor in a Musical and a Grammy for the cast recording.
Now he’s trading duels and political intrigue for rituals and red lights. No release details for the horror adaptation have been shared yet, but given the subject matter, expect plenty of questions and probably zero comfort.
