What happens when you put the screenwriter from Creed II (Juel Taylor) in the director’s seat of a genre-busting science fiction comedy-mystery starring John Boyega, Teyonah Parris, and Jamie Foxx? You get They Cloned Tyrone, of course.
According to Entertainment Weekly, the Netflix original film, which began its first stages of development back in 2019, was created to be an homage to the Blaxploitation films of the 1970s. The term is a portmanteau of the words “black” and “exploitation,” and refers to the pivotal time wherein a wave of independently produced genre films made by and created for the Black community overtook cinema; films such as Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song and Shaft.
They Cloned Tyrone was discovered on The Black List and optioned by MACRO Media shortly after the wild box office success of films like Black Panther and Get Out, as well as the overwhelming appreciation for Black filmmakers such as Jordan Peele and Ava DuVernay. The Black List brings some of the most acclaimed films to the silver screen, including American Hustle, The Revenant, Slumdog Millionaire, Argo, and The Descendants.
They Cloned Tyrone began filming in Nov. 2020 and concluded in April 2021. In Sept. 2022, Netflix finally revealed the teaser trailer for the film, followed by the official trailer in June 2023. The film’s outrageous plot, star power, genre-bending premise, and 70s nostalgia immediately put it on the public’s radar. The only question is, what on Earth is it about?
What is They Cloned Tyrone about, exactly? Other than a cloned Tyrone
Perfectly blending comedy, action, mystery, thriller, science fiction, and Blaxploitation, They Cloned Tyrone is a tour de force for director Juel Taylor and his feature film debut to boot. It stars John Boyega as the character Fontaine, a low-level drug dealer shocked to discover he was shot and killed in his car only to live to tell the tale after waking up in his bed the next morning, much to the shock of those around him.
As the title reveals, the movie involves clones, and Fontaine quickly learns he is one, even though his name isn’t Tyrone. Or he’s the one who was cloned. Or both. It’s all very complicated. Anyway, after enlisting the help of Teyonah Parris’s character Yo-Yo, who is a prostitute, and Jamie Foxx’s character Slick Charles, who is a pimp, the three embark on a journey to investigate a series of nefarious occurrences around town that lead them to the ultimate government conspiracy: the U.S. government is performing experiences on the Black community. But why?
They Cloned Tyrone is every bit of the film you expect it to be and nothing like it at all. You can read our in-depth review of the movie here.
By far the most original film of the year, They Cloned Tyrone debuts on July 21 on Netflix.
