Becoming King David Oyelowo' MLK In Selma Watch Paramount+ Trailer

EXCLUSIVE: What does it take to become Civil Rights icon Martin Luther King Jr? David Oyelowo took on the challenge for Ava DuVernay’s underrated 2014 film Selma. It’s all there in Becoming King, a new documentary coming to Paramount+.

The 1965 march through the segregationist state of Alabama resulted in brutal beatings by local authorities and white vigilante groups as activist marchers crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge en route to the state house in Montgomery. They didn’t get there, that day. Called Bloody Sunday, the nationally televised footage was shocking and shameful, and it left activist and future congressman John Lewis with a fractured skull. Six days later, President Lyndon Johnson had seen enough and gave a nationwide TV address pledging support for a National Voting Rights bill that became law after he introduced it in Congress. It was a milestone moment.

Oyelowo’s long preparation to play Dr. King during that galvanizing campaign is the subject of Becoming King. It’s directed by Jessica Oyelowo, the actor’s wife and partner in Yoruba Saxon, which is producing along with MTV Entertainment. It will premiere this Monday, February 19, for Black History Month. It extends Oyelowo’s relationship with the streamer after he completed the acclaimed first season of the 101 Studios’ drama Lawmen: Bass Reeves.

The docu marks the directing debut of Jessica Oyelowo, an actress, producer, singer and songwriter whose acting credits include the Tim Burton-directed Sleepy Hollow and Alice in Wonderland. It features behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with the likes of DuVernay, Lee Daniels, George Lucas and Oprah Winfrey as Oyelowo homed in on a role that was transformative to his career.

“I felt a deep need to document David’s intense preparation for his career-defining role even before Selma was greenlit,” says Jessica Oyelowo. “Although Becoming King would mark my foray into documentary filmmaking, I knew I was the only person my husband could trust with such an intimate story. I was ready to embrace the challenge and am so happy to play a pivotal role in bringing David’s incredible journey to the screen.”