YOUTUBE The drama recounts the little-known story of how Black Panther Party leader Fred Hampton was brought down by petty thief-turned-FBI informant William O'Neal. Filmmaker Shaka King realized early on that the only way to get a major Hollywood studio interested in the story of Black Panther Party leader Fred Hampton was to make a film that was part biopic and part genre. His theory proved correct. King's Judas and the Black Messiah was quickly picked up by Warner Bros., a decision helped by an all-star cast and the backing of Black Panther director Ryan Coogler, one of the film's producers. The movie revolves around Hampton, who led the Illinois chapter of the party, and informant William O'Neal, who played a key role in FBI leader J. Edgar Hoover's plot to kill Hampton.