The plot for Khalid’s movie has been in development since 2020. It is reported that the film was written by Richard Davis and Brian O’Halloran and directed by Mark J. Herring.
Khalid tells a tale of what Muslim does when he’s in trouble, but he doesn’t always have a Muslim to turn to. He tries to use other people to resolve his problems. He goes to the mosque for peace, but there’s only conflict.
His main character is Michael (Lance Henriksen), who is “just a kid” when he met Khalid. Michael has an angel, named Mohammed (Ravi Patel), to help him in his troubles. There are many other characters including Naveed (Hassan Akhtar), Ali (Zahra Sicari), Ali’s father and sister (Rufus Sewell and Paz Vega), the son of his girlfriend, and others.
It is unclear why Hendrick has added the character of Michael to his screenplay. We don’t even know where Michael’s character fits into the entire plot. Perhaps Michael will solve Khalid’s problem when he’s in the wrong place at the wrong time? When that happens?
Hendrick has said that the film is inspired by Michael’s book, The Girl With All the Gifts. The final act of the movie appears to take place in the book, but then we’re back in the novel’s present.
Hendrick says that the characters are based on real-life people, although the events are fictional. Unfortunately, when Khalid sees himself on TV and notices that Michael, who is supposed to be the Muslim savior, is himself a terrorist, it can’t help but reinforce the stereotypes that exist against Muslims. The character of Michael, who eventually turns out to be a terrorist, reminds me of Osama Bin Laden in a way.
Unfortunately, the movie’s trailers and the promotional video for the film haven’t helped the film’s cause. There are so many elements that could have been toned down, or if included, added to make the movie more interesting.
Khalid will have to do more than simply tell a story about a Muslim; he needs to play with our perceptions. Hopefully we’ll see him in the future.
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