Paul Bradshaw

Aug 10, 2018

Elba to star in a kid's film about tough love and urban horseback riding

Apparently “urban horseback riding” is a thing, and Idris Elba has just signed-on to star and co-produce a movie about it called Ghetto Cowboy.

Based on Greg Neri’s 2011 children’s book of the same name, Ghetto Cowboy is the story of a troubled teen called Cole who is forced to move to a rough part of Philadelphia with a dad he’s never met. It turns out the dad runs an inner-city stables for urban horseback riders, and the two start bonding and, presumably, galloping around shopping malls and supermarkets together. 

“In his dad’s ‘hood, horses are a way of life, and soon Cole’s days of skipping school and getting in trouble have been replaced by shovelling muck and trying not to get stomped on,” reads the blurb on the back of the book. “At first, all Cole can think about is how to ditch these ghetto cowboys and get home. But when the City threatens to shut down the stables – and take away the horse Cole has come to think of as his own – he knows that it’s time to step up and fight back.”

The film will be directed by first-timer Ricky Staub, with Elba co-producing and starring as the estranged cowboy dad. “This story was built out of a deep friendship and collaboration with the riders of North Philly, and I couldn’t be more excited to honour their legacy with this film,” Staub tells Variety

Elba is currently preparing to play the bad guy in Fast & Furious spin-off, Hobbs & Shaw, and, according to director Antoine Fuqua, he’s also going to be the next James Bond…