After more than five years in the making, ESPN and Disney are burying a biographical documentary series from the eyes of Colin Kaepernick.
The former NFL quarterback became a left-wing activist after kneeling during the national anthem at NFL games in 2017 following the loss of his starting role on the San Francisco 49ers. After vague claims of oppression, Kaepernick enjoyed several high-profile endorsements that included a “first-look deal” with the Walt Disney Company.
‘It’s not coming out. That’s all I can say.’
At the time, Kaepernick boasted about the “historic partnership with Disney” that would “elevate Black and Brown directors.”
Now, the series will not make it past the cutting-room floor — if it even got there.
In 2022, ESPN attached director Spike Lee to the project, with a plan to use never-before-seen footage from Kaepernick’s archive to tell his story. The show also had former ESPN personality-turned-activist Jemele Hill as producer.
On Monday, however, Reuters reported that ESPN would be dropping the project because the talent involved was not seeing eye to eye.
“ESPN, Colin Kaepernick, and Spike Lee have collectively decided to no longer proceed with this project as a result of certain creative differences,” the network told Reuters. “Despite not reaching finality, we appreciate all the hard work and collaboration that went into this film.”
Lee was tight-lipped when he spoke to Reuters about the documentary last week and revealed there was nothing he could say.
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At the red carpet for the Harold and Carole Pump Foundation dinner, a fundraiser for cancer research, Lee told Reuters, “It’s not coming out. That’s all I can say.”
“I can’t. I signed a nondisclosure. I can’t talk about it,” Lee said at the Beverly Hills, California, event.
Despite becoming a left-wing media darling after his protests, Kaepernick’s projects have not exactly jumped out of the gate.
After failing to get signed following his final NFL season in 2016, Kaepernick consistently claimed he could still make any team if given the chance. However, in 2019 Kaepernick inexplicably ditched pro workouts that had been set up for him by recording artist and mogul Jay-Z.
In 2021, Kaepernick stayed in the news when he compared the NFL Draft to a slave auction; he was drafted with the 36th overall pick in the second round of the 2011 draft.
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Director Spike Lee and Colin Kaepernick sit courtside on February 2, 2022, at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Photo by Rich Graessle/Getty Images
In 2024, the former athlete announced an artificial intelligence-based platform for creating comic books and graphic novels.
The platform, called Lumi, boasted its ability to skip gatekeepers in the industry and take artists’ ideas to animate without major studios. More than a year later, the website still shows a waitlist on its homepage.
Lee’s workflow has not stopped though; he and Denzel Washington have just released “Highest 2 Lowest,” providing newsworthy answers to questions about social media and culture in recent interviews.
