With Fightland coming to UK screens in just a matter of days now, many will be tuning in to see if the new series is as pulse-pounding as its trailer makes it out to be.
The new series comes from executive producer Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, who knows a thing or two about crafting an immersive, gritty universe, having done so with his Power franchise.
Jackson starred in the original series as Kanan Stark, joined by the likes of Omari Hardwick as James “Ghost” St Patrick and Joseph Sikora as Tommy Egan. But since the original drama came to a close in 2020, Power has continued to go from strength to strength with spin-offs centred around Jackson’s Kanan, Sikora’s Tommy and Ghost’s son, Tariq (Michael Rainey Jr).
But with the Power universe still thriving, can we expect any kind of crossover in the future between the two shows?
Omari Hardwick and Joseph Sikora as Ghost and Tommy in Power. Starz
Chatting exclusively to Radio Times, Jackson revealed: “You know what? Maybe something… see some characters.
“But you know what, what’s really interesting and different about how this series is written is it feels like a feature film. It jumps timelines, you see Duke’s character go away and then come back. He spent a period of time incarcerated but you still… it feels like a feature film like that. Whereas with Power, it was days. It was just a few days, everybody was in real time. So there was no lapses or things like that.”
So whilst it’s no confirmation, if Fightland continues past season one, it seems like it could be somewhat of a possibility for the worlds to collide in some way. Could Duke encounter Tommy or could Tyriq go to a London-based boxing match? We can but dream.
The new series is coming out just a couple of weeks after the US and is all set in the high-stakes world of British boxing, with the series being filmed on location in London.
Series star Howard Charles also said of the series: “It’s kind of Shakespearean too, right? It’s like there’s those big emotional stakes with the love, betrayal, revenge, family, death. It does feel epic in that sense.”
The synopsis reads: “On the night that British-born boxer Duke Kilroy (Howard Charles) becomes world heavyweight champion, a vicious assault leaves his brother, Calvin, dead. Duke is devastated and his reaction in the aftermath costs him eight years in a US prison.
“Upon his release, and after having made a sinister discovery, Duke returns home seeking vengeance against the man he believes set him up — the criminal kingpin and his former promoter Kingsley Marshall (Nicholas Pinnock). But Kingsley has vanished, leaving his children and wife, Joy (Deborah Ayorinde), who happens to be the love of Duke’s life, to pick up the pieces.”
It continues: “Working with a cartel desperate to control London’s drug market, Duke begins a high-risk game of infiltrating Kingsley’s empire to destroy it from within and smoke out his enemy.
“But amidst a volatile criminal landscape, and competing influences threatening to pull him off course, Duke will need to channel everything that made him a champion fighter into his bloody pursuit to win the ultimate victory – revenge for his brother.”
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Fightland premieres on Sky TV and NOW on Thursday 27 August. You can sign up to NOW from £3.99 a month.
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