Muhammad Hassan says a screenplay he developed with the late Shad Gaspard nearly advanced as a film before an agency allegedly asked for its Black lead character to be changed to white.
Marc Copani, who performed in WWE as Muhammad Hassan, discussed the project during Episode 215 of Developmentally Speaking, available through the show’s official YouTube channel.
Copani identified Assassin & Son as the most substantial screenplay he worked on after his WWE career ended.
“The biggest one I worked on was with Shad Gaspard, which was called Assassin & Son.”
Copani said the project came close to being developed as a movie but fell apart for what he described as unusual reasons.
“We actually almost had that made into a movie. Ultimately, it failed for really odd reasons.”
According to Copani, Gaspard pitched the screenplay to an agency that agreed to represent the project and attempt to sell it.
“I remember having a conversation with Shad, and he had pitched it to an agency who agreed to take it and try to sell it.”
Copani said the agency then requested that the race of the story’s lead character be changed.
“Their one note was they wanted the main character to be white, and the main character was Black.”
He said he and Gaspard refused to make the change.
“We weren’t going to budge on it, and so that got dropped.”
Copani did not identify the agency, its representatives, a studio or the approximate date of the discussions. The requested change therefore remains an attributed claim from his recollection rather than an independently corroborated account from the unnamed company.
The project did not disappear. Copani said Gaspard converted the screenplay into a graphic novel with his assistance.
“Shad took it upon himself to make it into a graphic novel, and I helped.”
WrestlingHeadlines reported in 2022 that the Assassin & Son comic was later optioned for development as a film. That report concerned a subsequent deal and did not include Copani’s account of the earlier agency request.
Copani said the goal remains to bring the story to the screen in some form.
“The graphic novel eventually gets picked up to be turned back into a film or a TV series, and that’s kind of the stage we’re at right now.”
“Obviously Shad passed away years ago, but with Assassin & Son, we’re still hopeful that that’s going to be made into a TV series.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit Developmentally Speaking, with a h/t to Wrestling Headlines for the transcription.
